Love Before and After Death
by Writer of Destiny
Summary: Anzu is killed in a hitandrun.Yami is left raising Yugi alone.Seto and Jou are trying to get him to date again.Yami meets Sei,who could change his life.Yugi thinks she shouldn't be around and he wants her to prove that she cares by playing the game...
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Yami Mouto sat in the front row of the church. This was no doubt the worst day of his life. His wife Anzu Mouto was dead…killed by a drunken hit-and-run while she was out for a jog. Casket closed; her face had been destroyed by the left rear tire. He sat there staring at his lap, in a daze. His only son, Yugi, was clinging to his shirt, crying softly. He was only four; old enough to know his mother was dead, but not old enough to know she was never coming back. Someone put their hand on Yami's shoulder; he didn't bother to look up. They walked away, Yami felt Yugi put his small arms around his neck. He out his hand on Yugi's back. The preacher took the front and began speaking. Yami looked up, but not at the preacher; Anzu's photo was sitting on the coffin. In the photo she was in her pink sundress at the beach. Her hair was tied back in a matching pink ribbon. Yami remembered everything about Anzu; her soft hair, her soft skin, her glowing eyes, her chiming voice and laugh. He could feel and hear those things until… "Daddy?" Yugi whispered. "Shh…" Yami said, pulling him closer. Soon after the preacher was finished, they carried Anzu's coffin to the grave. Yugi walked next to his father. When they got to the grave, Yami had a pink rose in his hand. He kissed it softly, then laid it on Anzu's coffin. It was slowly lowered into the ground. That would be the last time Yami would see Anzu in reality…

**Chapter One: One Year Later**

Yami stood on his porch in the rising sun's light. He started out into bliss, thinking. One year…today. Amazing; he didn't think he'd survive. Anzu had been dead for one year. Yami sighed. Suddenly, old guilt came back. About seven months ago…maybe eight, he had picked up Yugi from Seto Kaiba's house after a three month stay. After he pushed the guilt away, Yami went inside for a cup of coffee. He sat at the table, trying to make it through the day. He looked up at the clock; six am. Yugi should be getting up. "Daddy?" he heard. Yami smiled behind his coffee mug. When he put it down, he saw his look-alike son in his sky-blue pajamas with white clouds on them.

"Morning," Yami said, before briefly kissing Yugi on the forehead. Yugi smiled, then rubbed his sleepy eyes. Yami chuckled and sat Yugi at the table. "So," Yami said. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Waffles!" Yugi said with a smile. Yami smiled again and nodded. He put some frozen waffles in the toaster and fixed Yugi a glass of milk. Yami leaned on the counter. Yugi was sitting quietly.

"How's school?" Yami said after blinking at his son. Yugi was in kindergarten and the top of his class. Yugi shrugged.

"Fine." he said. Yami raised an eyebrow.

"No one's bothering you?" Yugi shook his head. The waffles popped up and Yami put them on some plates. He put Yugi's plate in front of him and handed him a fork. Yami sat down himself. He was afraid Yugi might be having trouble in school, socially. Yami had read that kids missing one or both parents usually become socially inept. Yugi looked up at this father. Yami had been very protective ever since he got back from his 'vacation'; that's how Mr. Kaiba had put it.

"Daddy?" Yugi said after swallowing a bite.

"Hm?" Yami asked, drinking his coffee.

"Are you worried about me?" Yami put his mug down and looked at his son.

"I'm not worried; I'm just making sure you're okay." He smiled.

"Is that a yes?" Yugi asked.

"No."

"No?"

"Yes."

"Yes?

"Yes."

"I knew it!" Yugi said smiling. Yami glared at him.

"Go get dressed." He said in a playful way. Yugi giggled as he went to his room to change. Yami could only smile as he watched Yugi run up the stairs. When he came back, Yami helped him with his school backpack. They got in Yami's red Lamborghini and Yami drove Yugi to school. "Why do all the kids stare at you?" Yami said when they got to Domino Elementary and before Yugi got out.

"Cause no one has a cool car like this." Yugi said with a smile. Yami chuckled and said goodbye to Yugi. He then drove to work; at Kaiba Corporation. After Anzu had died, Seto gave him a job at KaibaCorp so he could be near friends. Yami parked his car, next to Seto's sapphire Ferrari. He went inside and to Seto's office.

"Morning," Yami said.

"Don't remind me," Seto said as he turned his desk chair around. Yami chuckled.

"Got a morning meeting?" Yami asked. Seto rolled his eyes.

"With…" Seto hesitated. "I forgot his name…"

"Wow," Yami said, enforcing the sarcasm. "You really are looking forward to this!"

"Am I that obvious?" Seto asked with a smile.

"Good morning!" a cheery voice said.

"Oh God…" Seto said putting his head down on the desk.

"Morning Joey," Yami said. Joey rubbed the back of his head.

"What up Kaiba?" he asked.

"Why did I hire you again?" Seto asked with a groan.

"For security reasons!" Joey said happily. Joey was kind of like a body guard, but Seto insisted that he dress like a normal worker. In a way, Joey was undercover, that's how he put it. "Have a meeting, Kaiba-boy?" Joey asked.

"Again," Seto said. "Am I that obvious?" They all laughed lightly. Yami smiled as his two friends. When they were teenager, those two wouldn't work together for anything, but ever since Anzu died, they've been friends as well. Yami knew they had done that just for him and that knowledge made him smile.

"So Joey," Yami said. "What put you in a good mood this morning?" Joey smiled.

"He got laid last night." Seto said, before Joey could answer. Yami burst into laughter as Joey glared at Seto, who calmly took a sip of his coffee.

"Let me remind you," Joey started. "That I have a girlfriend!"

"So what," Kaiba said. "Don't act like you don't have a secret life."

"No," Joey said, shaking his head. "That's you!" Yami started to laugh again. Seto started to lunge at Joey, who took a step back, but the phone rang. Seto answered it and put it on speaker.

"Yes?" Seto said.

"Mr. Kaiba, Seirra is here to see you." Kaiba made a motion to strangle the telephone. Joey and Yami suppressed their laughs.

"Send him in." Kaiba said reluctantly. He looked up to see Yami and Joey wave goodbye as they left his office. Seto gave them a sarcastic smile. Yami and Joey walked to their stations with casual conversations. After work, Yami went pick up the mail before he picked up Yugi. When he did pick up Yugi, he gave him a hug and kiss.

"Had a good day at work, dad?" Yami nodded. Yugi smiled at him.

"What do you want for supper?" Yami asked. Yugi shrugged.

"I'll think about it." Yami started the car.

"Do you have any homework?" Yugi shook his head.

"Hey dad," Yugi asked nervously. Yami blinked.

"Yes?" he said wonderingly.

"Can we go out to eat? We used to do it all the time when…" Yugi trailed off. He turned away from his father. Yami frowned and put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi looked up at his dad, teary eyed. Yami smiled supportingly. Yugi forced himself to smile. Yami started up the car and they drove home in silence. When they got home, Yami noticed a message on the answering machine. Yugi stopped at the top of the stairs to hear it. Every now and then Uncle Joey or Mr. Kaiba would call to make his dad feel better about his mom. Yami pushed the blinking button.

"Hey buddy!" Joey's voice said. "Kaiba and I are gonna hang out Saturday night. You wanna come?" There was some shuffling in the background.

"If he doesn't go, I'm not spending the weekend with you!" Seto's voice said in the background. Yami smiled. He knew what they were trying to do, but he wasn't ready to start dating again. He turned around and started to wash the dishes from this morning. Yugi went to his room and changed out of his school uniform. He put his backpack on his desk and went to the nightstand next to his bed. There was a small jewelry box sitting on it. Inside was some Anzu's old jewelry. He rarely opened it, in case his father would walk into his room. He wasn't sure if he would get in trouble, but he didn't want to test that. After his was through, he went downstairs and saw Yami was just finishing the dishes. "I'm ready dad." Yugi said.

"Okay," Yami said. "Give me a few minutes." Yugi nodded and decided to watch TV. He sat on the sofa and turned it on. Yami went upstairs to get ready himself. As he was changing, he saw the family picture on the nightstand next to his bed. Slowly he reached for it and slowly he moved his finger down Anzu's body. Tears filled his eyes…no! He had to stop. If Yugi would walk in…he shook his head and continued. "Let's go." He said as he walked down the stairs. Yugi turned off the TV and followed his dad.

"Daddy?" Yugi said. Yami turned around. "Are we gonna go to Mommy's favorite place?" A quick picture of Anzu flashed in his mind. Yami forced himself to smile and nodded. Yugi smiled and followed his dad to the car. They drove to a small, corner restaurant about two miles away. As Yami got out of the car, he saw a few women his age wink at him. He forced himself not to roll his eyes or say anything crude in front of Yugi. "What are they doing?" Yugi asked innocently. One of the women stood up straighter, revealing a very flashy top.

"Walk." Yami said sternly. Yugi quickly walked inside, only a few steps in front of Yami. _"Whore,"_ Yami thought. The fact that people like her went around dressed like that, and in front of children, pissed him off. He dismissed the thought from his mind. He picked a spot to sit, away from the window. While they were waiting, Yugi told him about school. Yami smiled, enjoying the time with his son. They ordered their food and waited a little while longer. When their food got to them, Yami started to ask Yugi some question. Yugi hesitated on some of them. One question he couldn't answer, which made Yami worried. He had asked, "Made any new friends?" Yugi never had anyone come over and he never went anywhere either. Yami smiled letting Yugi know it was okay. Yugi immediately smiled back. When they were done eating, Yami paid the bill and they headed for the car. The women were still there. Yami whispered into Yugi's ear "Get in the car; now." Yugi nodded and got in quickly. One of the women smiled.

"Hey," She said. Her two friends smiled as she walked closer to Yami. "How about you take me for a ride?" Yami glared at her. At first he didn't say anything.

"Do the world a favor," he said. "Do something with your life!" He had made it as insulting as possible. The woman glared at him as he got in his car and drove off.

"What did she want?" Yugi asked innocently.

"Yugi don't—!" He slammed on the breaks. A woman had walked in front of the car and Yami hadn't seen her. Yugi's eyes were wide with fear. Yami got out of the car. He walked over to the woman who had fallen to her knees. She had dark ebony hair and was wearing a matching overcoat with an orange dress shirt and blue jeans. At first glance she looked like a teenager. "Are you okay?" Yami asked. He helped her up. "I'm sorry I—!"

"What the fuck is your problem!" she yelled. Her magenta eyes looked red.

"I—!" Yami started.

"What! You didn't see me! God! You think you rich people can buy your way out of everything? I swear you guys should burn in hell!" Yami couldn't believe the scene she was making. "Do you have any idea what kind of crime you almost committed?" Yami knew he wasn't supposed to answer that. "Hit-and-run!" These words pierced Yami's heart. "What do you have to say for yourself?" The woman was finally letting Yami talk. He did the only thing that came to mind. He held out his hand.

"Yami Mouto." The woman blinked then shook his hand.

"By doing this, you know I can sue you?" she said. Yami nodded. Then the woman said. "Seigyoku Son." Yami sighed.

"I'm so sorry. I've been having a rough time." Admitting that felt wonderful.

"It's okay," Seigyoku said. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Yami got back in the car.

"Is she okay?" Yugi asked. Yami nodded. They drove home mostly in silence.

Author's Notes…

This is my first story…so be nice. Uh…if you find any mistakes point it out to me through the reviews and be as exact as you can. Thanks…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Asking for Seconds**

Saturday night came soon enough. Yami left Yugi at Seto's house, since bodyguards were cheaper than babysitters. Yugi had already been asleep, so it was easy to leave. They went to a local night club with a bar. "Yami cheer up!" Joey said. Yami glared at them as they sat down in a booth.

"I now what you guys are doing." Yami said. Joey and Seto smiled.

"C'mon buddy!" Joey said. "You need to move on; that's what Anzu would want!" As soon as he said that, Seto punched him in the back of the head. Slight sadness constricted Yami's throat. It had been a while since he had heard her name.

"What do you want to drink?" Seto asked quickly. Yami shrugged, meaning anything. Seto reluctantly left Yami alone with Joey. They had some casual conversation, but it didn't last long. When Seto got back, Yami felt guilty for letting Anzu's name ruin his time with his friends, but he could help it. It was like she was still clinging to him. Yami took a sip of his alcoholic drink.

"Well hello," a familiar voice said. Yami slowly turned around. Seigyoku was standing behind him. She was wearing the same outfit, only her overcoat was missing.

"Uh, Yami…" Joey said.

"You know her?" Seto finished. Yami rubbed the back of his head.

"Actually I…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Seigyoku continued for him.

"We met at a corner restaurant." Seto and Joey wondered if it was the one Yami and Anzu used to go to.

"How?" Joey asked. Yami buried his face in his hands.

"We…bumped into each other." She lied; kinda. Yami looked up at her. Seto and Joey were silent. "So," Seigyoku continued, looking at Yami. "What was that 'rough time' you were trying to explain to me?" Yami said nothing.

"Oh," Joey said. "His wife died." Yami slammed his fist on the table as he glared at Joey. Seto saw Yami's rage.

"Wheeler, let's go get some drinks!" Seto said quickly as he grabbed Joey's wrist and pulled him to the bar, softly scolding him on the way. Yami put his hand over his eyes, as if he was embarrassed.

Finally Seigyoku said "I'm so sorry. I had no idea. You can run over me it you want! I'll be your little stress toy!" Yami looked at her. He could obviously see that smile on her face was forced.

"It's okay," he finally said. "I'm just having trouble dealing with it." Another confession that felt good to let go. Seigyoku went silent. Joey and Seto then came back. Seto pushed a drink to each of them.

"Thanks," Seigyoku said.

"Hey Yami." Joey said. "Can I talk to you?" Yami went with him, happy to leave Seigyoku's side for a while. Seigyoku and Seto were left alone. "What are you planning to do?" Joey asked. Yami blinked, surprised.

"What!" he said.

"Aren't you gonna ask her out?" Joey said happily.

"No!" Yami said sternly. He turned away from Joey and glared at the floor. Joey put his hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"C'mon Yami," he started. "I know this is tough but you're gonna have to move on, someday." Yami was unresponsive. Joey continued. "Remember back in high school? You were always saying speeches about Destiny. Maybe she is in your destiny…you did bump into her twice." Yami still said nothing as Joey fell silent.

"_Joey could be right."_ Yami thought.

When Yami still didn't answer, Joey then said "Look, just ask her out on a small date. If she's not the one, oh well." Yami knew that Joey was right. He smiled slightly then nodded. "Yes!" Joey celebrated. They walked back; Yami was slightly nervous.

Seto watched his friends walk away. He looked back at Seigyoku. She was playing with her straw. "So what do you do for a living?" Seto asked.

"Don't laugh," she started. "But at the moment I'm jobless." Seto raised an eyebrow. "I beat a guy into a bloody pulp for touching my breast and ass." She explained. Seto sat up straighter, as if trying to create distance. Seigyoku smiled. "Relax, I'm safe."

Seto smiled. "You could have a job at KaibaCorp if you want." Seigyoku blinked.

"No," she said. "I don't want any special treatment."

"It's no problem." Seto said. "You sound like a great worker." Seigyoku smiled. They were silent for a while. "So," Seto started. "What do you think of Yami?" Seigyoku took a sip of her drink and thought about it. Seto started to drink his own.

"He has a nice ass," she said. Seto's eyes widened as he began to choke on his drink. "His build isn't bad either." Seto continued to choke on his drink. Seigyoku didn't seem to care.

When he was done he said "Thank you for sharing that with us today." Seigyoku laughed lightly. Seto noticed Yami and Joey were coming towards them.

"Hey guys," Joey greeted. Yami glanced at Seigyoku. She seemed to have done the same thing. Suddenly, Seigyoku's cell phone rang. She answered it and quickly walked outside so she could hear the conversation. Yami followed her. Seto and Joey smiled to themselves. Yami waited until Seigyoku was finished with her call until speaking.

"Uhm, Seigyoku…" he said. She turned and looked at him as she put her cell back into her purse.

"Oh, hey," she said.

"Listen," Yami said. He took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you're busy next Friday." They were both silent.

"At the moment, no." she said.

"Oh," he finally said. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out…with me?" He fell silent; and felt like a teenager again at the same time.

"Okay," she said.

"Really?" Yami said. Seigyoku nodded as she walked over to him.

"Yeah," She handed him a piece of paper. "That's my phone number, that's my address, and that's my cell number." Yami put the paper in his pocket. "I have to go." Seigyoku finally said.

"Okay," Yami said. "Bye."

"Bye." She walked to her car and drove off. Yami was smiling as he rejoined his friends in the night club. He told them nothing. When Yami got home, he put the paper next to his phone. Then he carried Yugi to bed and went to bed himself. He couldn't help but smile before drifting to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: No Replacements**

"Did you have a good time last night, daddy?" Yugi asked innocently.

"Yep," Yami said cheerfully. Yugi smiled. Yami ruffled his son's hair as he walked behind him. Yugi chuckled.

"Daddy!" he said as quickly put his lunch dishes in the sink and followed his dad to the back porch. Yami sat in a wooden rocking chair he had. Yugi smiled as he stood in front of his dad and raised his arms, signaling he wanted to be picked up. Yami smiled as he put his son into his lap. He kissed Yugi on the cheek. Yugi hugged him. Yami put his arms around his son. Slowly he rocked back and fourth. He felt Yugi relax as he drifted to sleep. Yami softly kissed Yugi's forehead. Often, when Yugi was with Yami while he was running errands, young women would compliment him on how cute Yugi was. Yami smiled at the thought. He held Yugi closer. He stayed like that for a while and continued to watch and rock Yugi. Then he heard the phone rang. He got up slowly and then went to the kitchen. He answered the phone.

"Hello?" he said softly, so he wouldn't wake Yugi.

"Hey!" a familiar voice said. Yami blinked.

"Seigyoku?" he asked confusingly.

"Yeah!" she said.

"How did…" he started.

"You're in the phone book." She said.

"Uhm, okay." Yami said.

"Hi ya!" Seigyoku said. Yami smiled.

"I'm okay." He heard Seigyoku giggle.

"Listen," she said. "I was wondering if you could give me your address and cell…you know since I gave you mine and…yeah." Yami was silent for a few seconds. He smiled to himself as he gave her the information. Yugi then sighed in his sleep, then coughed a few times. Yami immediately looked down at his son. "You okay?" Seigyoku said, thinking it was Yami. Yami blinked, realizing he had never told Seigyoku he had a son.

"_Should I tell her now?"_ he thought. _"Or wait and see if the relationship goes any further?"_

"Hello!" Seigyoku's voice chimed.

"Sorry," Yami said quickly. "I was in deep thought." Yami was surprised he admitted that.

"Well," Seigyoku started. "I have to go. Bye."

"Bye." Yami said calmly. He hung up the phone, then looked down at Yugi again. Remembering that he had coughed, Yami gently put his hand on Yugi's forehead. It was slightly warm; but that could have been from him holding Yugi closely. He decided to let Yugi rest. He put Yugi in his own bed and went get the thermometer. He stuck it under Yugi's arm. When it started to beep, he took it out and looked at it. 98.9; it wasn't a total fever. He tucked Yugi in and went downstairs. He decided to watch a little TV. Around five p.m., Yugi woke up.

"Daddy?" he said hoarsely. Yami turned. He tried to smile, even though Yugi looked worse than before.

"Hey champ." Yami said.

"My head hurts." Yugi said. Yami walked over to Yugi and picked him up.

"You need to rest, young one." Yugi coughed. Yami hugged him. "Let get you back to bed."

"But dad…" Yugi groaned. Yami chuckled.

"You want to eat first?" he asked his son. Yugi shook his head. Yami sighed. He was running out of options. "How about I come lay down with you?" Yami asked. This made Yugi smile. Yami chuckled. "Okay," he said. "Go change into your pajamas and I'll be right up." Yugi nodded again. Yami put Yugi down and went into the kitchen and decided to fix Yugi some soup to see if he would eat. When the soup was finished, Yami bought it upstairs and found Yugi was already in bed. Yami smiled. "I know you said you weren't hungry, but I fixed something anyways." He said as he sat next to Yugi in bed. Yugi nodded and took the bowl from his father.

"Daddy?" Yugi said between a bite.

"Hm?" Yami asked as he put his arm around Yugi.

"Can you tell me a story?" Yami chuckled.

"About what?" Yugi hesitated. Yami looked down at him. "It's okay," Yami whispered.

"About mom…" Yugi finally said. Yami hesitated. He hugged Yugi with his arm and kissed him on the forehead.

"Let's see," Yami said, thinking of something. "I remember…" As he told the story, he made Yugi laugh and smile. When he was done, he said "Okay, now you need to rest." Yugi frowned, but nodded. Yami smiled and tucked Yugi in. "You'll feel better soon," he whispered. "I promise." Yugi smiled, then yawned. Yami kissed Yugi softly and moved his lighting-bolt bangs out of his face. As he left the room, he turned off the lights and went downstairs. He remembered when Yugi was about three; he had gotten his tonsils out. Yugi was miserable for about a month. Yami hoped this illness wouldn't be a repeat.

Unfortunately, Yugi's sickness got worse as the week went on. On Monday, his fever shot up; of course he didn't go to school. On Tuesday, his cough worsened and his sore throat made him mute. By Thursday, Yami wasn't sure if he would be able to make his date…at least that what he told Seto over the phone. "I'll watch him," Seto offered.

"But," Yami started to protest.

"Yami," Seto continued. "Just send him to bed early; I'll come around seven. You go pick up Sei and come home when the date's done!" Yami thought about it.

"What if he wakes up? He'll freak if I'm not there."

Seto thought about it, then replied "Drug him!" Yami's jaw dropped, but he glared at the phone when he heard Seto laugh after a few seconds.

"Damn you!" Yami said.

After Seto stopped laughing, he said "Seriously! Just give Yugi some Nyquil or something."

"I don't know…" Yami said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey!" Seto said. "Do you trust Joey more than me!"

"Not with responsibly no, but as far a having fun with Yugi—."

"What's that suppose to mean!" Joey's voice said. Yami looked at the phone.

"Joey, how long have you been there?" Yami asked.

"The whole conversation!" he said proudly. Yami slapped is forehead and shook his head.

"Fine, fine…" Yami said, giving in. "Seto, are you sure you're not all that busy?"

"Positive, my friend!" he said. Yami said his good-byes and they hung up. He called Seigyoku and said he'd be there at seven.

Yami put on a black overcoat. It was Friday night, six o'clock; so he had one hour to finish up. He had just given Yugi his medication, so he should fall asleep soon. As Yami tried to better himself, the door bell rang. He went downstairs and answered the door. Seto smiled. Yami did the same and let him in. "Lose the overcoat." Seto said as he sat on the couch. "It's hot out like there's not tomorrow." Yami smiled, mostly to hide his nervousness as he took his coat off. He was wearing his long-sleeve white dress shirt and his black suit pants. Also black, polished shoes. Seto smiled at him and asked "Nervous?" Yami crossed his arms and looked away from Seto.

"No, not at all." he said. Seto gave him a look, but said nothing. Yami said goodbye and left. When he started to get close to Seigyoku's house, he realized she lived in the suburbs…or more of the forest. (A/N: This is where the Yugioh/DBZ crossover starts.) Yami finally found the house. It was a funny-looking, dome shape. He blinked and walked over to the door. He knocked gently. A tall, boyish looking man with thick black glasses answered.

"Uhm," Yami said. "Hi, is Seigyoku home?" The man glared at him. Before he could say anything, Seigyoku pushed him into the door.

"Hi ya, Yami!" Seigyoku greeted cheerfully. Yami blinked.

"Hi." Yami said.

"That," she said pointing to the man. "Is my older brother, Gohan." By this time, Gohan was standing normally. Yami offered to shake his hand, but Gohan didn't move.

"Sei," Yami said. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"Fire away!" she said.

"Uh," Yami said. "How old are you?" She opened her mouth to speak.

Gohan spoke first. "Sixteen!" he said. Yami's eyes widened in fear. Seigyoku hit Gohan over the head with her shoe, which was weird because Yami didn't see her take it off. "Okay!" Gohan continued. "She's nineteen!" She hit him twice this time, sending him to the floor. "Alright, alright." He screamed. "She's twenty-three!" Seigyoku smiled. Yami cautiously did the same. She smiled warmly.

"Shall we leave?" Yami said motioning toward his car. She nodded. When she reached the car, she gasped.

"Oh my God!" she said. Yami turned.

"What?" he asked.

"You're car!" Seigyoku said, running over to it. Yami blinked. He didn't get it.

"What about it?" he asked, walking to the driver's side.

"Dude!" she said. "It's a Lamborghini!" He chuckled at her as they go in.

"So," Yami said. "You've never seen a car like this?" He started the car up.

"Only in books." She explained. The seats were very comfortable. Yami smiled at her and drove to the restaurant. "Wow," Seigyoku said as they exited the car. "This place looks great." Yami glanced at Seigyoku. Back at her house, he hadn't been paying attention to what she was wearing. She was in a very dressy shirt and matching pants. The outfit followed her figure well. "Something wrong?" she asked. Yami shook his hand. Offering her his arm they walked inside. The waiter led them to their table. They had casual conversation as they ate their food.

"So," Yami said. "Tell me about yourself." Seigyoku hesitated, gathering her thoughts.

"Well," she said. "I'm pretty energetic; just to warn you." Yami chuckled. She smiled and took a sip of her wine.

"Were you the top student in your class back in school?" Yami asked.

"Kinda," she said. "I was like the third best. Were you?" Yami nodded, somewhat embarrassed. Seigyoku giggled. "Gohan is." She said, rolling her eyes. "The precious star of the family." Yami could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"Were you ignored often?" Yami asked sympathetically. Seigyoku shook her head.

"No," she said. "Even though I was the middle child, I was the baby because I was the only girl."

"I was an only child." Yami said.

"Lucky!" she said, glaring at him. Yami chuckled again.

"Your brothers were mean to you?" Yami asked.

"Sorta," she continued. "They got a hold of me every now and then, but when they pissed me off…I got them back!" she added quickly.

"I was picked on in school." Yami said.

"Really?" Seigyoku asked. Yami nodded. When they were done eating, Yami took Seigyoku to a romantic movie. During the movie, Yami slipped his arm around Seigyoku. She rested her head lightly on his shoulder. After the movie, Yami asked her if she would like to walk on the beach. Seigyoku said yes and they headed for the beach. Yami parked the car and they got out. "Wow," Seigyoku said. Yami smiled at her.

"You like the moon and ocean?" Yami asked her. She giggled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Kinda," she said. "It's just been a while since I've been here." Yami smiled and they started their walk. Seigyoku kept glancing at the ocean. "It's beautiful, huh?" she asked. Yami looked and her.

"Yes, very." Seigyoku looked at him, then blushed. Yami smiled and took her hand. They walked hand in hand along the beach for a while. When the date was over, they walked back to the car and Yami started to drive Seigyoku home. Halfway there, they saw the flashing lights of police cars.

"What happened?" Seigyoku asked.

"Don't know," Yami said. He pulled over and got out. Seigyoku watched Yami go talk to an officer. He came back about ten minutes later.

"Well?" she asked.

"The officer said there was a car accident and that it was pretty bad." Yami got in the car and started it up. "He won't let me go through." He started to turn around. "Is there another route to your home?" Seigyoku shook her head.

"Not unless you can fly." she said. Yami had to laugh. Seigyoku mentally slapped herself. Yami hand her his cell phone.

"Call your mother." She looked at the cell phone, then took it. Before she started dialing, she looked at Yami.

"How'd you know I lived with my mom?" Yami shrugged.

"I thought since you lived with your brother, your mom might be there too."

"So it was a guess?" she asked as she dialed the number. Yami nodded. She talked on the phone for about ten minutes telling her mother that she was going to stay over a Yami's house. A smile twitched at Yami's lips. When she got off, she sighed.

"Your mother doesn't approve?" Yami asked.

"That's putting it lightly." Seigyoku sighed.

"She's just worried about you." he said.

"I wish she wouldn't," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's annoying." He chuckled. She gave him a look. Yami cleared his throat.

"My parents were pretty strict." Seigyoku blinked. "Could you tell me about yours?" Yami asked politely. Seigyoku sighed.

"My mother is the definition of 'worry', my dad…is 'out of this world', my big bro is perfect, and my little bro is away at college." Yami nodded. When they pulled into Yami's driveway, Seigyoku stared wide-eyed. "Damn!" she said when she saw the house.

"What?" Yami said. "It's only three stories." Seigyoku glared at him. He smiled. They walked inside. "Hey, Seto." Yami whispered. Seto looked up from his novel. He smiled.

"Didn't hear him once." Seto whispered. Yami smiled. Seto noticed and gave a light wave. She did the same. They said their goodbyes and Yami sat down on the sofa. Seigyoku did the same.

"I had a great time." She whispered. Her voice was soft. Yami looked at her.

"Me too." he said. His voice was velvet in her ear. She sat closer to him. He put his arm around her. Accidentally, they both turned at looked directly into each other's eyes. Slowly, as if they were both under the same spell, their faces came together. They moment their lips met, they felt a relaxing sensation. Holding the gentle and warm kiss, they realized that this was their true love. Pulling apart, the passion stayed with them. Little did they know, someone was watching them.

Yugi glared at the woman in his father's arms. He was at the top of the stairs, peering at them through the railing. He had only been awake for about ten minutes, but that was enough. "I don't care who she is," Yugi thought. "She's not gonna replace Mom…unless she can play the game." With that thought, Yugi turned and went back to his room, climbed into bed, and slowly drifted to sleep. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: The Day After**

Yugi yawned as he walked downstairs. Rubbing his eyes, he walked into the kitchen. "Daddy?" he said hoarsely. Yami turned around.

"Morning," Yami said. Yugi blinked. He was awake now. He blinked again when he saw the woman from last night drinking coffee with his dad.

"Morning," she said, somewhat confused.

"He's my son." Yami said, sensing her confusion. He sat down at the table. Yugi was confused as well.

"_Why is that woman still here?"_ Yugi thought.

"Yugi," Yami said, walking over to him. "This is Seigyoku." She waved. Yugi didn't say or do anything. Seigyoku walked over to him.

"You're so cute." She said, looking into Yugi's deep purple eyes. Yami smiled at her. Yugi still said nothing.

"Forgive him," Yami said. "He's shy." Seigyoku smiled at Yugi warmly.

"It's okay," she said. She reached to move a strand of hair out of Yugi's face. Yugi didn't want her to touch him. Yugi forced himself to cough. Seigyoku immediately drew her hand back. Yami put on a worried face.

"Let's get you back to bed." Yami said, hugging Yugi gently. He went back upstairs and put Yugi in his bed. He kissed Yugi and went back downstairs. Seigyoku smiled at him.

"Is he sick often?" Seigyoku asked. Yami shook his head.

"But when he does get sick…" Yami trailed off with a sigh. Seigyoku smiled again.

"I bet one of my mom's old remedies can help." Yami chuckled.

"You were sickly?"

"No, but I when I was, everyone knew!" she said, stressing the word 'everyone' and making a face. Yami chuckled again.

"The kitchen's yours!" Yami said. Seigyoku giggled.

"That desperate to get him better?" she asked with a smile. Yami nodded. "I might know something for the cough." She walked over to the stove and turned it on. Yami helped her find the things she needed. Back in Yugi's room, questions were running through the little one's mind.

"_Who is that woman? Why is she here? Why was she kissing my dad last night? Could she be my new mom?"_ He glared at the floor for even considering the last question. A knock at his door made him jump. His father walked in with Seigyoku behind him. She looked around his room.

"Wow," she said. "Cute little place you go here." Yugi wanted her to leave, but said nothing.

"Here," Yami said as he sat on Yugi's bed. He handed him a small mug. Yugi took it and looked at the warm liquid inside. Yami put his arm around his son. "It's honey-tea," he whispered. Yugi coughed a little before smiling.

"It's gonna help you with your cough." Seigyoku said gently. Yami was unsure. He hesitated to drink. Then again his father wouldn't let her poison him. He took a sip. It was sweet and made his throat feel better. Yami kissed his forehead. Yugi leaned on his father. Seigyoku sat on the edge of his bed. "My mom gave it to me when I was sick." Yugi glared at her. She froze when she saw Yugi's glare. It was a death glare. A loud honk from outside made all of them jump. Yami walked to the window and moved the curtain.

"Sei," he said. She stood up. "It's your brother."

"Damn it, Gohan!" she said. As she walked out of the room, Yugi smiled. Yami walked with her to the door. Before he opened it, he quickly kissed her. Yami also walked her to the car. When he turned to go back inside, Gohan was behind him. He learned closer; Yami took a step back.

"If you hurt her last night, we're gonna have a very violent talk." Gohan threatened. Yami knew he shouldn't mess with him.

"I'm glad we had this chance to chat." He said, pushing past Gohan. Gohan glared at him, but go in the car. They drove off. Yami walked back inside and to Yugi's room. Yugi was lying in his bed, holding his head. "You okay?" Yami asked. Yugi said nothing. Worried, Yami walked over to the bed and put his arms around Yugi.

"Daddy…" Yugi said sadly. Yami looked down at his son. Yugi's eyes were filling with tears.

"What's wrong?" Yami asked gently. Yugi wiped his eyes.

"I miss mommy." Yugi said. Yami hugged him.

"I know Yugi." He whispered. "I miss her too." Yugi started to sob. Yami hugged him firmly.

"She's not coming back." Yugi said. Yami knew that was a statement, not a question.

"No," Yami said gently. Yugi rested his head on Yami's chest and cried. Yami hugged him and rocked him a little. It had been a while since Yugi had cried like this. Yami's…well Seto's psychiatrist said every now and then Yugi would probably do this. All Yami could do was be there for him. Yugi stopped crying eventually. It had only been an hour. Yami held Yugi close. He wanted to cheer his son, up but didn't know how. "Hey," Yami said. Yugi looked up at him as he wiped his eyes. "How about we go see Mommy?" Yugi just looked at his father. "Let's get dressed, okay?" Yugi nodded. Yami smiled and kissed Yugi on the forehead. Yugi smiled even thought he didn't feel that way.

Seigyoku got out of the car with a smile on her face. Knowing Gohan's glare was on her she walked into the den. Her mother; Chi-Chi, and her father; Goku, were sitting on the sofa together. "I got her." Gohan said. They both looked up.

"Hey sweetie!" Chi-Chi said. Seigyoku smiled. Gohan threw himself in the chair.

"Hey Sei!" her dad said. She smiled.

"Had a good time?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Yes!" Seigyoku said excitedly. They looked at her. "It was awesome!" Chi-Chi smiled at her daughter.

"Gohan tells me he has an expensive car." Goku said.

"You remember what a car is dad?" Seigyoku asked jokingly. Chi-Chi glared at her. "What?" she asked. Giving up on her family, she went to her room. She stood by the door. Whenever she heard footsteps she would check to see who it was. When Gohan finally passed by, she greeted him with a swift punch in the face. He fell against the wall and to the floor. He looked up at his younger sister as she glared at him. "THAT'S FOR PICKING ME UP THE WAY YOU DID!" She started to walk away. "Honking the horn!" she said. "God!" she threw her arms up in the air. Gohan blinked. Seigyoku didn't let him sleep easy that night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Working With You**

The cold winds of October were cruel outside; but the warming system of KaibaCorp protected its early workers. Yami sighed as he filed his paper work. "Hey!" Joey called. Yami turned around. "You won't believe who the new worker is!" Joey said when he reached Yami. Rolling his eyes, he followed his friend to another section.

"Hi ya Yami!" a hyper voice said. Yami's jaw dropped.

"Hello…Seigyoku." he said. She smiled cheerfully.

"Kaiba gave me a job here! Isn't that great!" Yami hesitated to answer, but when he realized he could use this to his advantage, he nodded. Joey's cell phone rang and he answered it.

"Hey Kaiba-boy!" he said. Yami and Seigyoku held in their laughs.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" they heard Seto yelled through the phone. Joey held it an arm's length away. Seigyoku stared at him wide-eyed. Yami smirked. Joey cautiously put the phone back to his ear and finished the conversation. Yami and Seigyoku were left to talk on their own. Both were silent at first.

"What section did he assign you?" Yami asked. Seigyoku blinked.

"Section L-4," Seigyoku said.

"_Damn you, Seto."_ Yami thought. "That's my department…" Yami said in a whisper.

"Yes!" Seigyoku cheered. Yami blushed. "I get to work with someone I know!" Yami smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Okay! See ya!" Joey said as he hung up the phone. "Seto wants me!" Joey said.

"Seto?" Yami said. "You've never called him that before." Joey hesitated.

"We're friends now; it's different." Joey walked quickly to Kaiba's office. Yami went back to Seigyoku.

"So," Seigyoku said. "What do I have to do?"

"Well," Yami said. "I'm the manager in L-4 so I'm your boss." Seigyoku glared at him. He chuckled. "All you have to do is type the work I give you. Then you bring it back to me." Seigyoku blinked at him.

"But doesn't Kaiba give you the work?" Yami nodded. "So," she continued. "I'm typing the work you typed from Seto, who typed it first?" Yami nodded again. "That's just a damn circle!" Seigyoku said, putting her hands on her hips. Yami could only smile. "Does Kaiba even make mistakes in his typing?" she asked.

"Nope." Yami answered quickly.

"What's the damn point?" Seigyoku said, now throwing herself into her office chair. She put her hand over her eyes. Quietly, Yami walked to her chair, grabbed her armrests, and leaned over her. When she uncovered her eyes and looked up at him, he leaned forward and kissed her. She smiled slightly behind it. When he pulled away, they smiled at one another, looking deep into each other's eyes.

"It's easier than it sounds." he whispered to her. Reluctantly, and slowly, he got up and went back to his office. As Seigyoku watched him leave, a quick picture of Yugi flashed in her mind. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she had a feeling that she should fear this child. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on something different. After work, Yami met Seigyoku in the parking lot, in front of her car. "That yours?" Yami asked.

"No," Seigyoku said. "I'm just opening it with the same type of key so I can steal it." Yami laughed at her sarcasm. She smiled. "But, yeah this is mine."

"What is it?" Yami asked. Seigyoku stared at him wide-eyed.

"It's a Mazda." She said. Yami blinked, still confused. Seigyoku sighed. "It's an upper, middle class car!"

"Oh," he said. Seigyoku glared at him.

"You and your Lamborghini." She said. Yami smiled at her as she got inside the car. He waved bye as she pulled out. He went to his own car and drove home. Yugi had gone to school today, so he picked him up first. When they got home, Yami threw himself on the sofa. Yugi giggled as he climbed on next to his dad. Yami smiled at him.

"What?" Yami asked.

"You're tired." Yugi said. Yami kissed his son on the cheek.

"Do you have any homework?" Yugi shook his head. He cuddled closer to his father. Yami put his arm around Yugi. The phone started to ring. Yami looked at Yami to see if he would get up. When it rang a third time, Yami said "I'm not here!" Yugi laughed at Yami's taunting voice. After the fifth ring, the phone stopped. "Thank you." Yami whispered. Yugi giggled. Yami smiled tiredly. Then his cell phone rang. Since it was on his hip, he answered it. Before he could say a word…

"Look; I know you're tired but I have the decency to get my ass up and answer the phone!" Seigyoku's voice said. Yami laughed immediately. Yugi looked at him funny. Yami ruffled his hair. Yugi stayed with his father as the conversation continued. To Yugi, it seemed to go one for hours. When Seigyoku finally said "Okay, I've run out of things to talk about." Yami chuckled.

"We haven't been talking long." Seigyoku glanced at her clock.

"We've been talking for two hours!" Yami blinked, then looked at Yugi. For the past two hours, Yugi had found his shoes interesting.

"Hold on," Yami said to Seigyoku. "Yugi," he said. His son looked up and smiled, thinking Yami was finished. "Why don't you go play?" Yami said. He said it gently and with a smile on his face, but Yugi still frowned. Yami ruffled Yugi's hair quickly. Yugi got up off the couch and slowly walked up the stairs to his room. Yami continued to talk to Seigyoku. Yugi shut his door. His mom never pushed him away from anything. He thought about how much his life had changed over the week. That's how long it had been since his dad had met Seigyoku. Yugi gently lifted the lid of the jewelry box. Diamonds and sapphires shined back at him. A smile twitched at his lips. He gently picked up a ring. This one was different then all the others. It had all of the family's birthstones. He held it to his chest, over his heart. He just stood there, holding it. He tried to remember everything he could about his mother. Then he kissed the ring.

"I miss you, mommy…" he whispered. He gave the ring a quick grasp. He whirled around as his door started to open. He quickly put the ring back and got on his bed. Yami poked his head in. Yugi just looked at him, hoping he looked casual. Yami smiled at him.

"Hey," he said as he walked in. Yugi just watched him. Yami sat next to him on the bed. Yugi blinked as Yami put his arm around him and pulled Yugi closer. "You okay?" Yami asked. Yugi nodded. "I kinda thought I hurt your feelings back there…with that look on your face and all." Yami said as he laid back on Yugi's pillows. Yugi crawled over to his dad's side. Yami smiled as Yugi laid his head on his. "Yugi," Yami said. Yugi looked up. Yami smiled at the innocence flooding out of Yugi's soft eyes. "I want you to talk to me." Yami finished. Yugi blinked and cocked his head slightly. Yami knew he was confused. "I want you to tell me if you're feeling okay. If there's anything bothering you; remember you can always talk to me." Yugi looked down, as if he was feeling guilty. Yami was patient for Yugi's answer.

"Why is Seigyoku here?" he asked. Yami cleared his throat.

"Well…" Yami started. He tried to gather his thoughts. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to his 5-year-old son who was still missing his mother's presence. Yugi just blinked when his father didn't reply.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Harsh Reality**

Yami sighed. "First off Yugi," he started. "From now on I want you to call her 'Ms. Seigyoku'. She's older than you and you need to respect her." Yugi nodded.

"_That's not too hard."_ Yugi thought. _"I do that to my teachers."_ "But why is she here?" Yugi asked again. Yami knew his questions were innocent, and somewhat out of confusion.

"Well…" Yami said again. Yugi just blinked as he hugged his dad. Yami hugged him as he gathered his thoughts. "Yugi, remember when Mommy first died? We were both very sad, right?" Yugi nodded, hanging on his father's every word. "Well, you don't want to be sad forever do you?" Yugi shook his head slowly. Yami smiled. "That's why Seigyoku's here." Yugi cocked his head slightly. Realizing he was still confused, Yami continued. "Seigyoku's here to make us happy."

"How is she gonna do that, dad?" Yugi asked, sitting up.

"By being a mother." Yugi's eyes grew wide.

"What?" Yugi managed to choke out.

"She might be your step-mother." Yami said gently. Yugi said nothing. He was still in shock about what Yami just said. "Do you know what a step parent is?" Yami asked, trying to pull Yugi into a hug.

"Yeah!" Yugi said, jerking away. "It's someone put into a family to replace the parent that's gone!" He turned away from Yami, glaring at the floor.

"Now hold on," Yami said. He sat up more and reached for Yugi, who didn't move. "Son, look at me." Yugi turned half way, not wanting to look up. Yami gently put his finger under Yugi's chin and raised his gaze to his own. He smiled warmly. "Sei isn't going to replace Mom. She could never do that. I promise." Yugi turned away again. Yami wanted to pull him back but thought not to. _"Maybe he needs some time to think."_ Yami thought. "Just think about it." Yami whispered to Yugi before kissing him lightly on the cheek. Yugi wiped it off as Yami left the room and closed the door.

Young Yugi's eyes filled with tears. He didn't want a new mom, he wanted his old one. He felt the tears coming to the edge of his eyes. He squeezed them shut, holding them back. He remembered what his mom would usually do. She would pick him up and hold him close. Then she would tell him that everything was alright. Whatever happened next depended on if his father was home or not. If Yami wasn't home, she would take him to his room and they would play The Game. If Yami was home, she would just take him out to the wooden rocking chair, and just hold him until he felt better. Yugi took in a sharp breath. By now the tears were falling. He laid down on his pillows and cried.

Yami sat on the sofa thinking. _"'Replacing'? Where did Yugi hear that? Maybe on one of his cartoons?"_ He sighed. _"Maybe the relationship is going too fast for Yugi. Perhaps Yugi needs to spend more time with Seigyoku."_ Sighing deeply, Yami tried to think of something all of them could do together. Suddenly the phone rang. Reluctantly, he got up, went to the kitchen, and answered the phone. "Hello?" he said as he sat down in a table chair.

"Hey!" The voice said.

"Seigyoku? Oh thank God!" Seigyoku blinked.

"Everything okay, Yami?" she asked. Yami sighed then he explained the conversation to her.

"Oh," she said. "I kinda had the feeling he hated me…" Yami blinked.

"It's not that he hates you, it just…" he trailed off. They were both silent, then Seigyoku said

"How about the park?"

"What?" Yami asked.

"Yami! The park! We can all go to the park!" Yami smiled.

"That's a great idea, Sei."

"You wanna go now or tomorrow?" she asked twirling her hair.

"Tomorrow would be better." He said.

"Kay." Seigyoku said. "See you at one o'clock?"

"Sure!" Yami said. They said good-bye and hung up.

Seigyoku sat back in her chair. Her suspicions had been true; Yugi didn't like her. _"I can't blame him,"_ she thought. _"He's so young…"_ she sighed and put her head down on her desk to think. Chi-Chi passed by the door. When she saw her daughter was off the phone, she walked into the room and said

"What did he say?" Seigyoku looked up at her mother.

"What?" Chi-Chi glared at her.

"I asked you to invite Yami to Thanksgiving." She said. "What did he say?" Seigyoku slammed her head on the desk. "You forgot to ask?" Chi-Chi said. Seigyoku nodded. Chi-Chi silently walked out of the room.

Yami wondered if he should go check on Yugi or just leave him alone until dinner. He then accidentally hit his foot on the table. "Damn it!" he cursed. Since he was barefoot, he had cut his foot on the wood and it was now bleeding. Rolling his eyes he went upstairs to his bathroom. He sat on the edge of the tub and pressed a towel to it to stop the bleeding. Once that was done, he stood up and opened the mirror medicine cabinet. A piece of paper fell out, into the sink. He blinked. He reached for it and unfolded it. It was his old work calendars. There were notes scribbled on each side of the paper. On each day Yami was off it was highlighted purple. But on the days he was working, it had the time and the word "DATE" was written. Yami blinked again. He sat back down on the edge of the tub. Had Anzu been cheating on him for the past year?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: A Day at the Park**

Yugi walked wit his dad to his back. It was somewhat chilly outside, but he had a light jacket on. "Dad?" Yugi said. "Why are we here?" Yami smiled at his son.

"It's Saturday Yugi." He said. "I thought we'd spend the day doing something instead of being locking up in the house." Yugi just blinked at him as they continued walking.

After a few minutes Yugi said "Ms. Seigyoku is meeting us here…isn't se?" Yami looked down at Yugi, who was looking at the ground sadly. Yami stopped walking, which made Yugi stop, and kneeled down to Yugi's level. He put his hands on Yugi's shoulders.

"Yugi please, just try to spend a little time with her. Who knows…you might like her." Yugi said nothing. Yami sighed, hugged Yugi, gave him a kiss, and then picked him up. Yami walked the rest of the way. They saw Seigyoku sitting on a bench. Yami stopped to look at her. She seemed to be in deep thought. The wind blew softly, moving her ebony hair. She was wearing a bright, long-sleeve shirt that matched the autumn leaves, simple blue jeans and a blue overcoat to pull it all together. Again Yami knew she looked like a teenager. After gazing at her beauty for a few seconds, he walked over to her. She turned when she heard footsteps and smiled when she saw Yami.

"Hey," she said. She smiled at Yugi. "You're so adorable!" Yugi raised an eyebrow at her. "Here." She said as she handed Yugi a brown paper bag. "It's bread," she explained. "To feed the ducks." Yugi said nothing at first. Yami started to put him down.

"Thanks." He said. Yami smiled at him.

"You can go Yugi." Yugi hesitated, but ended up walking over to the small pond in the center of the park. Yami and Seigyoku were left to talk alone. Yami sat on the bench and Seigyoku followed him.

"Think this was a good idea?" she asked. Yami shrugged.

"I don't know…" he sighed. She looked at him. She turned toward him and asked

"Is there something wrong?" Yami hesitated to answer. Then he said

"I think we might be…going too fast…with out relationship I mean." Seigyoku sat there, listening to him. When she didn't say anything, Yami awkwardly continued. "Yugi…sort of…freaked out last night."

"Oh," Seigyoku said. "So you wanna slow down so Yugi can get used to me?" Yami smiled.

"Yes," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. She scooted closer to him.

Yugi found a nice flat rock to sit on as he fed the ducks. The ducks started to crowd around after he threw two or three pieces of bread. As he was throwing pieces, he thought about random things. Absentmindedly, he forgot to throw a piece and kept twirling it in his fingers. A quack bought him back to reality. He looked down and saw that a duckling had walked right up to him for the piece of bread he was playing with. Yugi smiled. "What up?" he asked the small animal. The duckling blinked. Yugi handed him the piece. They duckling snapped it out of his hand. Yugi smiled. "Hungry?" he broke off a smaller piece. The ducking immediately ate it. The duckling then went back into the lake and swam over to a larger duck. _"Bet he doesn't have to worry about step parents…"_ Yugi thought. He brushed his hands off when he was finished.

Yami and Seigyoku sat there watching Yugi. "Think I should go talk to him?" Seigyoku asked.

"About what?" Yami asked. Seigyoku shrugged.

"Just to go talk." Yami smiled and said

"Go for it." Seigyoku sat up, gave Yami kiss, then walked over to Yugi. He seemed to be finished feeling the ducks since he was brushing his hands off. Just as Yugi was turning around, Seigyoku was behind him.

"Hi Yugi." She said. Yugi started at her wide-eyed. He took a step back, but lost his balance on the very rock he had sat on. "Yugi!" he heard Seigyoku shout as he fell back into the icy waters of the shallow lake.

Yami watched Seigyoku walk away. Yami sighed at her beauty. "Think she's pretty?" a voice asked.

"Yes," Yami said. "Very." The voice chuckled. Yami turned and saw Joey giving him a smile. "

What up, buddy?" the blonde asked.

"Trying to get Yugi to spend time with Sei." Joey nodded.

"He doesn't like her, huh?" Yami blinked at him.

"How did you know?" Joey smiled.

"Cause I grew up without a mom." Yami smiled sympathetically. Joey just smiled back.

"Yugi!" they heard Seigyoku shout, followed by a loud splash. Yami and Joey quickly ran to them. Yugi was on all fours in the shallow lake, soaking wet and shaking violently. Yami reached for him. Yugi tried to stand but his legs hurt too much from the cold. Once Yami did get a hold of Yugi, Joey offered his overcoat and wrapped Yugi in it.

"Its okay, Yugi." Yami said.

"Oh Yugi," Seigyoku said. "I didn't mean to scare you." She reached to move Yugi's hair out of his face.

"No!" Yugi said as he turned away from her. He jumped down from Yami's hold and ran to the car. Yami took a step to go after him, but Joey offered.

"I'll get him." He said. Yami nodded, then Joey ran off. Yami turned and looked at Seigyoku. She had her head bowed.

"Sei…" he said, taking a step towards her. She slightly looked up.

"I'm sorry…" she said.

"No," Yami stepped towards her and hugging her. "Yugi knows that…" he said comfortingly.

"You really think so?" she asked hugging him. Yami nodded. She smiled. "Oh!" she said. "Before I forget; my mother wants you over for Thanksgiving." Yami smiled.

"I'll put it on the calendar." He said smiling. Yami kissed her lightly. Seigyoku smiled. Once they couldn't stand the cold any loner, they said good-bye and went separate ways. Yami walked quickly to his car. When he got there he saw Joey leaning on it cradling Yugi in his arms. Yugi was still wrapped up in the overcoat. "Hey son," Yami said warmly. Yugi turned to him, tears in his eyes. Yami smiled at Yugi as he kissed him on the forehead. Yami then looked at Joey. "You wanna come over for a few minutes?" Joey smiled.

"Sure," Joey said. "But I walked here." Yami offered to drive and they got in. Joey let Yugi sit in his lap and Yami insisted that the overcoat stayed on him until they got home. Yami started up the car and turned on the heater. Once they did get to the house, Yami took Yugi upstairs and fixed him a warm bath. Once the bath was ready, Yami helped Yugi undress and told him to relax in the water for a while. After that, Yami went downstairs and saw Joey making coffee in the kitchen. "Want some?" Joey asked. Yami smiled and said

"Please." Joey smiled. They talked as the coffee was brewing.

"So," Joey started. "What are you gonna do?" Yami shrugged.

"I haven't got a clue." They were silent for a few seconds.

"You think Seto could help?" Joey asked. Yami looked at him.

"Why would Seto know anything about raising children?"

"He raised Mokuba!" Joey countered. Yami gave him and look and said

"Mokuba is his little brother, not his son." He hesitated, then said "Also, Mokuba was twelve when Seto took custody of him." Joey shrugged. The coffee pot went off and Joey poured each of them a cup. Yami took a sip of his coffee. He sighed.

"There's gotta be something Yugi and Sei have in common." Joey said. Yami shrugged.

"If there is," he said. "I have no idea what it could be." They heard Yugi's soft footsteps as he started to come downstairs. They both smiled.

"Daddy?" Yugi said as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey," Yami greeted, but his smiled faded when he saw what Yugi was wearing. It was a navy, long-sleeved shirt with purple strips and gold stars on it. Anzu had given it to him the Christmas before she died. Yugi blinked at his father, wondering why he seemed so sad. Joey noticed this and decided to brighten the mood.

"Hey, Yugi!" he said, making the toddler turn around. "Don't I get a hug!" Joey said smiling. Yugi giggled as he ran to Joey. Joey picked him up and hugged him. Yami smiled slightly.

"Hello?" a voice called from the living room. They turned and saw Seto walking into the kitchen.

"There's a new invention called the doorbell," Joey said. "Have you heard of it?" Seto glared at him. Yugi giggled at Joey's smile. Seto smiled at Yugi.

"Hey you!" Seto said. Yugi held out his arms to Seto, meaning he wanted a hug. Seto smiled again and took Yugi from Joey hugged him firmly. "I guess you missed me, huh?" Seto asked when the hug was over. Yugi nodded.

"So," Joey said "What brings you here?" Kaiba smiled.

"Mokuba is coming to visit for Christmas." Yami chuckled.

"I wondered if we were ever gonna see him again." Joey laughed at that.

"Just like his bro," Joey said. "Dedicated to his studies." Mokuba, now seventeen, had gone to college and called often. It had been over a year since any of them had actually seen the younger Kaiba. Seto could only smile at the thought that he would see his younger brother soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Thanksgiving**

The month of October didn't last long, but its cold weather stayed. Halloween was uneventful for Yami and Yugi. Instead of going trick or treating, Yugi stayed home with his dad and they watched ghost stories on TV. Once November had started, Yami's paperwork had steadily increased due to holiday shopping. Seigyoku didn't find that too much of the 'holiday spirit'. During the week of Thanksgiving, Yami had bought Yugi some new clothes for the dinner. On the day of Thanksgiving, Yami couldn't have been more nervous and Yugi couldn't have been more annoyed.

Yami tried to straighten his coat. He sighed. Yugi blinked at him as he sat on the bed. "Daddy," Yugi said, crawling to the edge of the bed.

"Hm?" Yami replied, not looking away from the mirror.

"It's straight." Yugi was referring to his coat. Yami sighed and chuckled at the same time. Yami knew Yugi was cross, and it was sort of his fault. He smiled as he walked over to his son, who was clicking his shoes together. Yami kneeled down in front of him.

"You like your new clothes?" he asked.

"Yes, dad." Yugi said dully.

"You promise to behave?"

"Yes, dad." Yugi said, secretly rolling his eyes.

"Promise?" Yami asked in a taunting voice.

"Yes!" Yugi said sitting up. Yami grabbed him and started to tickle his son. Yugi laughed. Yami continued to do so, until Yugi got away and ran. Yami followed him into the kitchen. Before Yami could catch him again, the phone rang. He answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi!" Seigyoku said. Yami smiled.

"Just to let you know," she started. "If you wanna eat, you're gonna have to get here or dad and Gohan will eat it all."

"Seigyoku!" Yami hear a woman yell in the background.

"Yugi and I were kidding around." He explained to her.

"I see," she said.

"I'll be over soon." He said. They said good-bye and hung up. "GOT YA!" Yami said as Yugi tried to run pass him. Yugi exploded with laughter as his dad lifted him into the air. "So, you ready?" Yami asked. Yugi giggled and nodded. Yami quickly kissed his on and they got in the car.

"Dad?" Yugi asked.

"Huh?" Yami replied.

"Is there food gonna taste funny?" Yugi got in his seat.

"I don't know," Yami said. He blinked then asked "Why?"

"Cause last year it tasted funny." Yugi buckled up.

"It did not," Yami protested.

"It did to me." Yugi said. Yami buckled and started the car.

"Maybe they're better cooks than I am." He said.

"I hope," Yugi said.

"Are you picking on me?" Yami said with a playful glare. Yugi giggled and nodded. "You're so getting it when the dinner is over and we get home." Yami said. Seigyoku tapped her feet nervously. She had just gotten off the phone. She sighed for the tenth time.

"Don't worry!" a voice said. Seigyoku turned and saw a close family friend. She had styled her light blue hair again and was wearing her casual red dress. Seigyoku smiled.

"Thanks, Bulma." Seigyoku said.

"Oh no problem!" she said. Seigyoku smiled again.

"I'm glad Vegeta and Trunks could come as well!" Bulma smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"Vegeta's hoping for a little sparring and Trunks can't wait to see Goten again." Seigyoku giggled.

"I miss Goten too." She sighed.

"Is he coming?" Chi-Chi asked again as she walked into the living room.

"Yes mother!" Seigyoku said.

"I can't wait to meet him." Goku said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Dad," Seigyoku said nervously. "Remember what we talked about?" Goku blinked at her. "No saiyan stuff. I got Yami convinced that we're normal people."

"What makes us not normal?" Trunks asked. Seigyoku glared at him.

"The fact that our dads are from outer space and that we turn into a gorilla every full moon!" Bulma blinked at Seigyoku. "Oh," Seigyoku continued. "Before I forget, NO SUPER SAIYANS!" Trunks took a step back.

"Yes ma'am." He said before retreating into the kitchen, where his father was.

"She lives in the woods?" Yugi asked as they drove by countless trees.

"Yep." Yami said. "That's why I don't want you to wander off." Yugi said nothing. He had planned to stay at his father's side for the whole thing anyways. When they finally arrived in the driveway, Seigyoku was already standing outside. She waved. Yami and Yugi got out of the car. Seigyoku hugged Yami.

"You look so handsome." She said.

"Thanks," Yami said.

"I was talking to Yugi." Seigyoku said, kneeling down. Yugi just looked at her. "I'm sorry there are no other kids around," she said. "So I got you this." She pulled a Dark Magician plush doll from behind her back. Yugi blinked. "Just consider it an early Christmas present." She said.

"Thank you." Yugi said before Yami could say anything. He gently took it as she offered it. Yami smiled. Seigyoku then stood up.

"You look great too." Yami smiled at her. As they were talking, Yugi put the Dark Magician doll in the car so it wouldn't be in his way.

"C'mon, Yugi." Yami said as they headed inside. Yugi caught up and stayed behind Yami. Seigyoku started to open the door.

"You are entering at your own risk." She said as she fully opened it. (A/N: Here's the Yugioh/DBZ crossover again!) Bulma and Chi-Chi were talking on the couch.

"Hi!" they said at the same time. Yami smiled, as he walked into the warm house. Bulma and Chi-Chi got up and shook Yami's hand and told him their names.

"These are your sisters?" Yami asked. The two women blushed and giggled.

"Now, they love you." Seigyoku said.

"I'm her mother." Chi-Chi said. Yami smiled.

"And I'm just a family friend; don't mind me!" Bulma said. They continued giggling. "Well now," Bulma said, getting down on her knees. "Who's this?" Yugi hid behind his dad.

"Vegeta!" Bulma called "Come see! This kid is so cute!" They most intimidating man Yami and Yugi had ever seen walked into the living room. He had a constant glare on his face. Yugi got completely behind his dad's legs. Yami kept his smile.

"Nice to meet you." Yami said. Vegeta smiled.

"Likewise." His voice scared Yugi even more. They shook hands.

"Yugi," Yami said. Yugi looked up at his dad. Yami picked him up and said "This is my son; Yugi."

"Hey there," Chi-Chi said gently.

"Vegeta's my husband, by the way." Bulma added quickly. Yami nodded. Seigyoku led Yami to the kitchen.

"That's my dad!" Seigyoku said. Goku smiled at Yami.

"Hey!" he said, as if he and Yami were old friends.

"Hi," Yami greeted.

"It's nice to finally meet ya!" Goku said. He was about to give Yami a friendly slap on the shoulder, but Seigyoku quickly grabbed her father's wrist.

"Daddy!" she said innocently. She lowered her voice so Yami couldn't hear. "Remember what happened last time when you hit mother on the shoulder!" (A/N: We all remember that episode right?) Goku made a nervous face and gently shook Yami's hand.

"And this is my son," Yami said, nodding his head downward at Yugi, who was still in his arms.

"Hi!" Goku said. Yugi smiled a little. Gohan then walked into the kitchen.

"Oh…" he said. "He actually made it." Yami forced himself not to glare.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi said.

"Hey!" a voice called. Seigyoku and her family turned.

"Goten!" Chi-Chi said excitedly. He held out his arms. Chi-Chi hugged her youngest son. He had long, black hair that was pulled back.

"That sweet ride out there for me?" Goten asked, referring to Yami's Lamborghini.

"No," Seigyoku said. "It's for Yami." Yami waved.

"Hi," Goten greeted.

"Hello." Yami said. He and Goten got acquainted. Then Goten went off to hangout with Trunks, who Bulma explained that was her son. Yami and Yugi then sat on the sofa with Seigyoku.

"How do you like them so far?" she asked. Yami chuckled.

"They're different." He said.

"What about you, Yugi." Yugi looked and blinked when he realized Seigyoku was talking to him.

"Uh," he said. Yami chuckled. Seigyoku just smiled. Yugi didn't answer. He just sat in his father's lap, resting. Yugi glanced at the clock. Only half an hour until it was time to eat. Yami's cell phone rang.

"This will only take a second." Yami told Seigyoku. He went outside, leaving Yugi on the sofa with Seigyoku. She looked at Yugi.

"Hey Yugi," she said. He looked at her. "I'm glad you could come." She continued. Yugi said nothing. Just then Chi-Chi and Bulma walked in.

"Hey Yugi!" Bulma said. Yugi whirled around.

"He's so adorable!" Chi-Chi said as she picked Yugi up.

"Mom—!" Seigyoku tried to warn, but the women ignored her. Seigyoku watched nervously as they occupied themselves with Yugi, who seemed scared out his wits. As Bulma ruffled his hair, she asked

"Are you excited about having Seigyoku for a mom?"

"Bulma!" Seigyoku said. A glare appeared on Yugi's face.

"No!" he shouted. Chi-Chi immediately let him go. "Seigyoku will never be my mother!" he continued. He then faced her. "I hate you! All you ever do is make dad forget about mom! You're ruining my life!" After that he ran after his dad. Seigyoku was left in shock. She slowly sat down on the sofa. Chi-Chi and Bulma looked at her sadly.

Yami came back with Yugi in his arms. Everyone was in the kitchen by that time, so that's where Yami headed. Everyone was either eating at the table or fixing themselves a plate. Yugi had to sit in Yami's lap sense there wasn't enough chairs. Yugi didn't mind, in fact he was happy about that. As they ate, Yami was asked simple questions and was told a little about the family. "Your parents could have come too Yami." Chi-Chi said.

"Thank you, but they both died before Yugi was born." Yami said smiling at her.

"Oh, sorry." Chi-Chi said. Yami smiled and nodded it off.

"Yugi's your only family?" Bulma asked.

"Only blood relative yes," Yami said. "But I have two friends who could pass as my brothers." Yami thought about the good times with Joey and Seto as he said that. As the dinner continued, Yugi said nothing. Once the dinner was over, everyone moved outside to continued talking. Yugi stayed close to his dad. Yami also noticed that Seigyoku was unusually quiet. He wondered if anything was wrong or if she was just tired. When it was about five o'clock, Yami said goodbye and he and Yugi started to leave. "Thank you for inviting me." He said to everyone. Chi-Chi gave Yami some leftovers and he left, with a last goodbye. As they drove onto the road, Yugi sighed. Yami did the same.

"They're weird." Yugi said.

"Yep." Yami agreed. Yami smiled at Yugi. Yugi was holding the Dark Magician plush doll. He seemed to be studying it, as if deciding if he should keep it or not. "Yugi," Yami said gently. Yugi looked at him with curious eyes. "Thank you. You were very well behaved." Yugi didn't even smiled, which make Yami wonder if everything was okay. All Yugi did was look out the window.

Seigyoku put her head down on the table. She was sure that everyone in the house had been informed about Yugi's confession. Chi-Chi and Bulma appeared to be washing the dishes, but Seigyoku knew they were focused on her. Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were leaning on the wall; and Vegeta and Goku were just standing in the front of the kitchen. Seigyoku kept playing the incident over and over in her mind. "He'll get used to you," Chi-Chi said reassuringly.

"Yeah," Bulma agreed. "He's just confused, that's all." Seigyoku smiled slightly, but both of them could see the sadness in her eyes.

"I don't know," Gohan said.

"She never was good with children," Goten said.

"I'll say!" Trunks agreed. They burst into laughter, since they were remembering the beatings Seigyoku had given them in their younger days. Seigyoku ran out of the kitchen and to her room as she started to cry. The family was silent as she left.

"Those weren't humorous tears," Goku said, concerned.

"No shit, Kakorot." Vegeta said.

"Boys…" Chi-Chi said.

"Trunks…" Bulma said. The sons looked at their mothers.

"YOU'RE ALL GROUNDED!" both mothers yelled at their sons.

"Vegeta, will you take Trunks home?" Bulma asked.

"Gladly," Vegeta said smiling evilly. As they walked out the door, Chi-Chi told Gohan and Goten to go to their rooms.

Yami watched Yugi go up the stairs to his room. Yami went to the kitchen and fixed him some coffee. After about an hour of being home, Joey and Seto busted through the door; but Seto was polite enough to turn around and close the door.

"How'd it go!" Joey asked excitedly. Yami blinked. Seto hit Joey over the head.

"Hey Yami," Seto said. "We thought you would like to join us at my mansion for Thanksgiving supper." Yami laughed.

"Sure," he said. He called Yugi down and Yugi was excited about it. They took Seto's limo back to Kaiba Mansion. Yami told Seto and Joey what happened over their dinner.

"Sounds like a bunch of weirdos to me." Joey said, before taking another bite.

"They are not weird," Yami said. "They're just different." Seto secretly rolled his eyes.

"What did you think of them, Yugi?" Seto asked.

"Weirdos," Yugi said.

"Ha!" Joey said, pointing at Yami. "That's 75 against 25! You lose!" Yami glared at his friend.

"Okay…" Seto said. "You can do math, congratulations." Yugi laughed as Joey glared at Seto. Overall, the dinner was fun a night worth remembering.

Seigyoku wiped the tears from her eyes for the hundredth time. _"I can't believe I'm still crying!" _she thought. _"The guys are always making fun of me like that, and I usually kick their ass for it. But this is serious…I'm trying to get this kid to like me, but he just won't…!" _ Her door started to open. She quickly wiped her eyes again, and looked up at Chi-Chi came in. Her mother smiled. Seigyoku wished she could do the same.

"Hey, sweetie," her mother greeted. She sat next to her daughter on the bed. "Are you feeling better?" she asked, hugging Seigyoku.

"I wish," Seigyoku said. Chi-Chi put her hand on Seigyoku's shoulder.

"Oh, it'll be okay," Chi-Chi said. "Yugi will learn to like you."

"But I'm not good at being a mother!" Seigyoku said, walking over to the window.

"It's not something you can learn over night." Chi-Chi said comfortingly. Seigyoku sighed. Chi-Chi just smiled at her. "It's gonna be hard at first," Chi-Chi said as she walked over to her daughter. "But it will get easier," She hugged her. "I promise." Seigyoku hugged her mother and hoped that she was right.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: New Jobs**

Yami sighed as he continued to type the game code Seto had given him. His eyes started to bother him, so he closed them for a few seconds. When he was done with that he bought it to Seigyoku so she could type it again. Seigyoku blinked as he handed it to her. "It's a lot?" she asked, hoping for the right answer.

"Well…" Yami said. "It depends on your definition of 'a lot'." Yami said. Seigyoku groaned. Yami smiled at her and left. Seigyoku glared at the paper work.

"I hate you." She told it. She didn't feel like typing al that. Slowly an idea came to her.

"Here you go!" Seigyoku said as she gave the papers back to Yami.

"You typed a little slow today." Yami said as he took them.

"Of course!" Seigyoku said. "It's Monday!" She went back to the office. Yami got up and bought them to Seto. Seto's chair was turned away from him, so Seto didn't see him, but he heard him. After Yami left, Seto took all the papers out of the folder. When he touched the papers they were warm; hot-off-the-press warm. He glared at the papers. Gathering them up, he walked back to Yami's office.

"Nice try," Seto said, giving the papers back to Yami. Yami blinked, confused. He picked up the papers and felt the warmness Seto had felt. Yami cursed under his breath. When they walked into Seigyoku's office. Her chair was turned away from them.

"Seigyoku," Yami said. When she didn't turn around, Seto noticed that headphone wire plugged into the computer. Seto pulled it out and the music of the rock band, Disturbed, filled the room. Seigyoku turned when she didn't hear the music. She saw Yami and Seto glaring at her. Seto had already turned off the volume.

"Hi!" she said waving.

"That was a nice try," Seto said, giving her the papers. "Trying to pretend you typed it up by copying it on the scanner, then printing it out." Seigyoku didn't bother to look down at them. "Usually, I fire people who try to pull that stunt." Seto said. There was a moment of silence.

"I sorry," she said. (A/N: That's not an error, that's how she talks.) "But I'm just bored! I want some excitement!" Seto chuckled.

"Usually the guilty don't say anything." He said. "But I have might have something for you two…" Yami blinked.

"Two!" he said, since he had been silent for the whole confrontation. Yami and Seigyoku followed Kaiba down to the basement of KaibaCorp; the area where he test his new games. "Is this safe?" Yami asked. Seto shrugged and stopped.

"What's your definition on 'safe'?" he asked. Yami glared at him

"Don't worry," Seigyoku said, putting her hand on Yami's shoulder. "Kaiba will keep us safe!" Yami smiled slightly.

"Here it is," Kaiba said. He opened the door with a numeral password, and they stepped inside.

"Hey guys!" a voice called.

"Joey?" Yami said as he looked up.

"Yep!" The blond said when he reached his friend. Seigyoku greeted him.

"You guys are gonna run a field test on my latest game." Kaiba said.

"Cool!" Seigyoku said. "What kinda games do you do?" Yami sighed.

"Virtual Reality." He said.

"So cool!" she said excitedly. Yami sighed and groaned. "What's wrong with testing games?" Seigyoku asked, looking at Yami.

"Yeah," Joey said. "There's more money in it." Yami glared at him.

"My desk job gives me enough," he said. "What would I need more for?"

"You could start up a savings account for Yugi and send him to a bigger and better college." Kaiba said as he smiled.

"You got me!" Yami said happily.

"Yay!" Seigyoku said hugging him.

"Okay," Kaiba said typing on a wide computer keyboard. "Just pick a virtual pod and I'll start the game." The three friends got inside one of the pods and let the machine do its work. Once Yami opened his eyes again, he was in the virtual world.

"Cool, huh?" Joey asked. Both he and Yami were dressed in armor, with swords at their hips. On their chest plates were dragons. Joey had the Red Eyes Black Dragon and Yami had Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"Oh hell no!" They heard Seigyoku say. She was wearing an orange, velvet princess gown. Her waist and up was covered in armor. "I am not walking around like this!" she continued. Yami smiled at her.

"Why?" he asked. "You're beautiful."

"I don't like dresses!" Seigyoku said glaring.

"Don't worry about it," Joey said. "Let's just play the game." He started walking. Yami followed.

"We better get a good sum for this." Seigyoku mumbled as she followed them. After a few minutes of walking Seigyoku said "I don't even have a weapon!"

"Maybe you're not supposed to." Yami said.

"This might be a glitch." she said.

"Impossible," Joey said. "Kaiba made this game." Rolling her eyes, they continued. Suddenly, something jumped out from the brush and land in from of them. "It's a Blue Eyes!" Joey said. The figure reached for it head and took it off.

"A dragon just beheaded itself." Seigyoku said. The figure stepped forward. It was a virtual Seto Kaiba dressed in Blue Eyes White Dragon armor.

"Or," Yami said. "It could be a virtual Kaiba."

"Good afternoon men," the virtual Seto said.

"Yo!" Joey said. Yami chuckled.

"I see you knights are escorting the princess back to the castle."

"That's it!" Seigyoku said. "This game sucks! I'll be damned if I have to play a princess!" (A/N: My friend actually said this when I told her about this part.) Joey blinked.

"You were a tom-boy weren't you?" he asked.

"And I'm damn well proud of it!" she said glaring at Joey.

"I see your rankings are great." The virtual Kaiba continued.

"Rankings?" Yami asked.

"The dragons on your armor." Kaiba said. "Baby Dragons are for rookies, Red Eyes are for basic, Slifers are for advanced, then experts get to choose a Dragon and that's their armor."

"So," Joey said. "You're the best of the best?" Seto nodded. Joey glared at him.

"All we have to do is get Seigyoku back to the castle?" Yami asked.

"Indeed." Seto said.

"Sounds easy." Seigyoku said.

"Good luck." Seto said before disappearing.

"Let's get this over with." Seigyoku said walking ahead. Yami and Joey caught up. They walked for a little while longer, then a troll-looking monster jumped in front of them. Seigyoku hid behind Yami. "Protect me knight!" she said. "I command thee!" Yami turned around and looked at her funny. She smiled.

"What do you want?" Joey asked the troll.

"Answer my riddle…" it said. "And you may pass…"

"Okay," Seigyoku said.

"My face and hand great you everyday. I run all day, but I don't walk. I tell you something but do not talk. What am I?" the troll asked. Yami and Joey had the most confused looks on their faces. Seigyoku rolled her eyes.

"You're either a clock or a watch." The troll disappeared and Seigyoku walked on.

"Oh!" Joey said. "I get it!"

"A little slow…" Seigyoku said. Yami sighed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Home for the Holidays**

After the game was over, all three awoke and got out of the pods. "What's with that game?" Joey asked Kaiba after getting out.

"What do you mean?" Seto asked, looking up from his book.

"Well," Yami explained. "It's kind of childish."

"I know," Seto said as he put his book down. "It was made for ten-year-olds." They all blinked.

"That explains the knight and princess outfits." Seigyoku said.

Seto chuckled. "Yami," he said. "I did you a favor." Yami blinked. They heard a giggle. Yugi stepped out from behind Seto.

"Hi daddy," he said. Yami blinked again and looked at his watch. Yugi had gotten out of school over an hour ago.

At first Yami was speechless, then he said "Thanks Seto," Seto smiled. Yugi walked over to his dad and Yami picked him up. "Did your homework?" Yami asked.

"Yep," Yugi said. "Mr. Kaiba helped me."

"Good," Yami said.

"You can go home," Seto said.

"What's our new work schedule?" Seigyoku asked.

"There is none," Seto explained. "Whenever I need you, I'll call." They agreed and went home.

Yami tossed Yugi on his bed and laid down next to him. "Are you gonna be home more often?" Yugi asked.

"Yep," Yami said. He kissed Yugi on the forehead. Yugi giggled. Yami pulled him into a hug. "I love you so much!" he said.

"I love you too, dad!" Yugi said. Yami chuckled and turned on his back. He picked Yugi up and held him up in the air. He looked at his son with caring eyes. Yugi just giggled. Yami smiled at him. Yugi was so innocent; so unknowing of the real, stressful world. Yami wished Yugi could stay that way forever. "Daddy," Yugi said innocently.

"Yes Yugi?" Yami said gently.

"What are you thinking about?" Yugi asked with a smile. Yami smiled too.

He bought Yugi down and hugged him. "Nothing Yugi…nothing." Yugi smiled slightly as he rested his head on his father's chest. Yami's cell phone started to ring. He let go of Yugi with one arm and answered. "Hello?"

"He's coming!" Kaiba shouted.

"Mokuba?" Yami asked. Yugi immediately looked up.

"Yes!" Kaiba said.

"Get your ass over here!" Joey said excitedly from the background.

"I'm coming!" Yami said. They hung up. "Yugi, want to go see Mokuba?" Yugi immediately nodded. Both Moutos grabbed their coats and hopped into the car. Yami called Seigyoku on the drive to the mansions and she said she would come. She arrived a few minutes after Yami. They all waited anxiously for Mokuba to arrive. Yami noticed that Seto couldn't stop smiling. Yami felt so happy for him. They waited for about an hour. Then the door started to open. Kaiba stood and walked halfway to the door. Everyone stood, ready to greet the younger Kaiba. Once the door was open, Mokuba stood in the doorway. His black hair, once all over the place, was now tied back into a neat pony tail and his voice had already gotten deeper.

"Hey Moki!" Seto said, opening his arms for a hug. Mokuba looked at him. His blue-gray eyes that were once filled with innocence were now filled with sorrow. "Moki?" Seto said. "You okay?" Tears started to pour from Mokuba's eyes, then he ran up the stairs and to his room, leaving his suit case at the door. Seto turned to go upstairs, but looked at his friends. Joey gave him a nod, letting him know it was okay. Seto smiled and hurried to Mokuba's room. Yami and the others sat down again.

"Daddy?" Yugi said. "What's wrong with Mokuba?"

Yami looked at Yugi's worried face. He smiled comfortingly. "Mr. Kaiba will tell us when he comes back." He hugged Yugi, but he still seemed worried.

Yami, Joey, and Seigyoku seemed to have waited forever. Sometimes they heard Mokuba yell, but never Seto. When Seto finally came down, they looked at him with concerned eyes.

Seto threw himself in a chair, then said "His girlfriend broke up with him."

"He had a girlfriend?" Joey asked, somewhat surprised.

"He never told me," Seto said, feeling hurt. "Mokuba said he wanted to surprise me by bringing her over for Christmas…but he walked into her dorm room and saw her…" He trailed off looking at Yugi. "Uh…with someone else." Seto sighed. They were silent for a few seconds.

"First love?" Seigyoku asked. Kaiba nodded.

"Damn bitch," Joey said. Yami glared at him, trying to cover Yugi's ears. "Ruining the holidays like that for us."

"Don't let Mokuba hear that," Seto said. "He already apologized for ruining the holidays."

Yami blinked. "It's not his fault." he said. Seto shrugged. They all fell silent again. "So," Yami continued. "What now?"

Seto shrugged again. "We have two weeks until Christmas and I doubt Mokuba will feel better by then…" Seto sighed.

"So," Joey started. "What's Mokuba doing now?"

"He cried himself to sleep," Seto said.

As the adults talked about ways to make Mokuba feel better, Yugi snuck away from his dad and went upstairs to Mokuba's room. Yugi slowly opened the door and smiled when he saw Mokuba lying on his bed. He closed the door softly as he walked in. The lights were off but there was enough sunlight from the open curtains. Yugi walked to the other side of the bed. Mokuba didn't notice him at first. He blinked when he did. "Yugi?" Mokuba said sitting up, half way. Yugi smiled and giggled.

"Hi." Yugi said.

Mokuba smiled slightly. "Hey you," Mokuba sat up. He picked up Yugi and put him in his lap. "What have you been up to?" Yugi hugged Mokuba quickly.

"I'm okay," Yugi said. "What about you?" he asked. "Mr. Kaiba seemed really sad." Mokuba frowned. Yugi blinked confused. "Mokuba…?" Yugi said worriedly.

"It's alright," Mokuba said. "I'm okay…I'm just a little sad."

Yugi blinked. "Why?" he asked. Mokuba sighed.

"_How am I gonna explain this to him?"_ Mokuba thought. "Well," he started. "I lost one of my friends."

Yugi blinked. "Why?"

"Cause she didn't like me anymore," Mokuba said. "So she replaced me with someone else."

Yugi made a face. "That's mean." he said.

Mokuba chuckled. "Some people are like that, Yugi."

Yugi fell silent for a while, then he hugged Mokuba. "I'll still be your friend!" he said. Mokuba smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Yugi." Mokuba said. Yugi smiled.

"Where's Yugi?" Seigyoku asked. Yami blinked and looked around.

"Yugi?" he said while looking around.

"He's probably in Mokuba's room." Joey said. They all headed upstairs. Through Mokuba's door, they could hear both boys laughing. Seto smiled as he opened it.

"Hi big bro," Mokuba greeted with a smile. He was holding Yugi up-side-down by his ankles.

"Hi daddy!" Yugi said with a wave.

"Bet all the blood's rushing to your head." Joey said, smiling.

Yugi giggled. "Not really." Mokuba gathered Yugi up and handed him to Yami. As Yami took Yugi in his arm, he kissed Yugi on the cheek. Seto's cell phone then started to ring.

He answered it. "Kaiba…What! Now!...Fine, we'll be there." He hung up. "Sierra wants to meet my game testers."

"Us?" Seigyoku asked. Seto nodded. He looked at Mokuba.

"Moki," he started. "I'm sorry, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"It's okay bro!" Mokuba said. He hugged Seto. "I'll see you when you get back." Seto smiled as he hugged his brother.

"Yugi," Yami said. "You're gonna have to stay with Mokuba for a while."

"Kay," he said. Yami put Yugi down.

"Be good," Yami said, with a hint of a stern tone. Yugi nodded. Yami, Joey, Seigyoku, and Seto went downstairs and left. Mokuba picked Yugi up.

"I don't know about you," he said. "But I'm hungry!" Yugi smiled as they went downstairs and to the kitchen. Mokuba put Yugi at the table and said "What do you want to eat?"

"Whatever you're having." Yugi said, watching Mokuba looked through all the cabinets and in the refrigerator.

"Okay," Mokuba said, talking to himself. "What did my dearest brother do with all the snacks?" Yugi giggled. "Ha! Found some!" Yugi laughed as Mokuba put a bag of chips in front of them. He handed Yugi some as he opened the bag. Then Mokuba sat down in the chair across from Yugi. "So," he said. "Who was that woman?" Yugi glared at the ground. _"This is gonna be a sensitive topic."_ Mokuba thought. "Yugi?" he asked.

"She's dad's girlfriend!" Yugi said angrily.

Mokuba blinked. "Is she mean to you?" Mokuba asked worriedly.

Yugi shook his head. "She just annoys me." Yugi said more calmly.

"How?" Mokuba asked gently.

"I don't know," Yugi said as he started to fidget with his hands. "She's just…"

"Not your mother?" Mokuba finished. Yugi fell silent and looked at the floor. Mokuba frowned. He couldn't blame Yugi for missing his own mother; she had only been dead for a little over a year. Mokuba forced himself to smile. He walked over to Yugi's chair and gave Yugi a gentle hug. "It's okay," Mokuba whispered.

"Everyone keeps telling me that!" Yugi said. "But nothing's better!"

"Isn't your dad happier?" Mokuba said, looking at Yugi.

Yugi hesitated to answer. "I guess," he finally said.

"Does your dad know how you feel? Mokuba asked.

"No," Yugi said immediately.

"How about giving Seigyoku a chance?" Mokuba suggested. Yugi hesitated.

"I guess…" he said reluctantly. Mokuba gave him another hug. The phone started to ring and Mokuba got up to answer.

"Hello?" Mokuba answered. "Hey big bro! Huh? Oh sure, no big…No it's okay…I'm not mad, I'm totally used to this. Okay, I will bye." Mokuba hung up. He turned to Yugi. "Guess who has to stay over tonight with me?" Mokuba smiled.

"Yes!" Yugi said, standing up in his chair. Mokuba chuckled. He picked Yugi up, carried him to the den, and they started to watch TV. "What did daddy say?" Yugi asked.

"It wasn't Yami," Mokuba said. "It was Seto. He said they had to stay late tonight. And he apologized over and over again." Yugi giggled. Mokuba let Yugi sit in his lap. They watched TV and went to be at nine.

Seto and Yami quietly walked into the mansion. "Is Yugi in the guest room?" Yami whispered? Seto shrugged. They went upstairs. Yami checked in a guest room. Seto looked into Mokuba's room and saw Yugi in Mokuba's arms. Seto went get Yami and Yami slowly took Yugi from Mokuba's hold. "Night," Yami said as he turned to leave.

"Night," Seto whispered. Yami left. Seto turned to Mokuba. He looked as peaceful as he did when he was a child. Seto moved Mokuba's bangs out of his face. "Love you," Seto whispered. He kissed Mokuba on the cheek, then went to his own room.

Yami buckled Yugi into his car and drove off. At a red light, Yami stopped and looked at Yugi's innocent figure. He could only smile. Once he got home, he changed Yugi into his pajamas and tucked him in, kissing him on the cheek before he left. "Night," Yami whispered as he closed the door.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Christmas Wish

Yami happily hummed a Christmas carol as he warmed up the leftovers he had gotten from Chi-Chi on Thanksgiving. He was warming them up from Christmas, which was tomorrow. A knock at the door made him turn around. Yami glanced at the clock; six o'clock. He went into the living room and answered it. It was Joey. "Hey buddy!" the blonde greeted. Yami chuckled and let him in.

"Christmas is tomorrow Joey," Yami said.

"I know," Joey answered. "But I wanted to get an early start on it." Yami chuckled again. "So, is Yugi excited?" Joey asked. Yami shrugged.

"Last Christmas wasn't the best…" Yami trailed off for a second with a frown. "So I'm hoping this one will be better." Joey put a hand on Yami's shoulder. Yami smiled. There was another knock at the door. Yami blinked then answered it. It was the Kaiba brothers.

"Ha!" Joey said, pointing at Seto. "I got here first!" Yami let them in as he gave Joey a dull look.

"Whatever," Seto said as he and Mokuba sat on the sofa.

"Hi Yami," Mokuba said. Yami smiled and nodded. Just as Yami was about to close the door, it slammed back open hitting him in the nose as it did so.

"Hi ya Yami!" Seigyoku said. Everyone looked at Yami as he held his face in pain. "Oh my God," Seigyoku said. "I'm so sorry!" Yami managed to smile.

"It's okay," he slowly moved his hands. He was happy to see it wasn't bleeding, but his nose was slightly red. "Anyways," he said giving his head a shake. "What brings you all here?"

"We wanted to start Christmas early!" Joey said, smiling.

"You all planned this didn't you?" Yami crossed his arms.

"We have no idea what you're talking about…" Seto said smiling. Yami rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Okay," he said. _"Thanks guys…" _Yami thought, remembering how depressing the first Christmas without Anzu was.

"Are you cooking my mom's leftovers?" Seigyoku asked, smelling the food's aroma. Yami blushed.

"Yes…" he admitted.

"Too busy this year?" Seto asked.

"No," Yami said. "Yugi said my cooking tasted funny." Everyone, except Yami, burst into laughter. Yami glared at them. "I tried, damn it!" he said. Seigyoku hugged him.

"It's okay," she said. "We're just joking." Yami smiled and sat down. They all began to talk. After a while of conversation, they heard Yugi's footsteps as he came downstairs. He walked through the living room and into the kitchen without a 'hello' to anyone.

"Hey Yugi," Joey said, trying to get Yugi to talk. Yugi glanced at him. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a small bottle of water. Joey tried again. "Uh…are you excited about tomorrow?" Yugi still said nothing. Joey was now totally confused. He looked back at Yami, who shrugged confused as well. "Are you okay, Yugi?" Joey asked now serious.

"I'm fine," Yugi said quickly as he headed up the stairs. Joey turned and faced everyone. They were all silent. Yami started to get up, but Seto offered. Yami was reluctant, but sat down. They all watched Seto go upstairs.

Yugi was sitting on the windowsill. It was starting in snow again. Yugi put his fingers gently on the window's glass. As expected, it was cold. He sighed. As his door started to open, he turned to see who it was. Kaiba smiled at him. Yugi turned back around. Seto walked over to Yugi. "Hey kiddo," he said as he sat down on the windowsill with Yugi. He picked Yugi put and sat him in his lap. "You okay?" he asked. Yugi said nothing. Seto held him closer. "You can talk to me," he said reassuringly.

"I don't feel good," Yugi said.

"Are you sick again?" Seto asked as he gently put his hand on Yugi's forehead.

"No," Yugi said, turning his head away. Seto frowned, but forced himself to smile.

"Do you miss your mom?" Seto asked softly. Yugi glared at his feet. "It's okay," Seto said, hugging Yugi. "You're dad isn't going to be mad if you do." Yugi looked up at him, surprised that he knew how he felt. Seto smiled. "Moki and I lost our mom too," he said. "And our dad at your age." Yugi fell silent. He couldn't imagine losing his dad too.

"Mr. Kaiba," Yugi said softly. Seto looked at him. "What happens to you when you die?" Seto's throat tightened.

"_Think fast, Seto!"_ Kaiba thought. Yugi blinked, wondering why Mr. Kaiba wasn't answering. "I'll show you," Seto finally said. He moved Yugi's curtain and the night sky shined beautifully at them. Yugi blinked, not understanding. Seto smiled. "Your soul turns into a star."

"Really?" Yugi asked. Seto nodded. Yugi looked up at the stars. "Which one's mom?" Yugi asked. Seto hesitated.

"You never know," he said, trying to make this up as he went. "But, I do promise you that she is watching you right now." Yugi looked up at the stairs again. Seto smiled at him. "Just think about it." Seto said. He gave Yugi a quick hug, set him down, and left the room.

Yami looked up at Seto as he came downstairs. "How'd it go?" he asked. Seto smiled.

"It went okay." he said. Yami let out a sigh of relief.

"You gave him the 'Star' lecture, right?" Mokuba asked, giving his brother a sly look. Seto glared at him.

"It's better than the truth." Seto said through gritted teeth.

"What's he talking about?" Joey asked.

"Seto said that when you die, you soul turns into a star." Mokuba explain.

"Oh," Seigyoku said. "That's cute!"

"But the truth is you rot in the ground!" Mokuba said laughing. Seto glared at him.

"If you tell Yugi that—!" Seto threatened.

"I'm not!" Mokuba said. Seto sat next to Mokuba on the sofa again and they all started to chat again.

Once it become ten o'clock, Yami said "Are we gonna have a sleep over?"

"Maybe…" Joy said. Yami smiled.

"If any of you wish to stay, you know where the guest rooms are." Yami went to the kitchen and saved the leftovers for tomorrow. Yami then went up stairs to Yugi's room to check on him. Yugi turned as his door started to open. Yami blinked when he saw Yugi sitting on the windowsill in his pajamas. "You're still up?" Yugi nodded. "I told you I wanted you in bed by nine." Yami scolded lightly as he walked over to Yugi. Yugi said nothing. He just sighed as he looked out the window again. Yami frowned and crossed his arms. "Yugi," he said.

"I'm not tired," Yugi said, not turning around. Yami sighed as he sat next to Yugi.

"Waiting for someone?" Yami asked smiling. Yugi gave him a weird look.

"If you mean 'Santa Claus'," Yugi started. "He's not real."

Yami blinked. "How do you know?" he asked slyly.

"Because," Yugi explained. "It's impossible for a reindeer to fly, for nine reindeer to carry a five-hundred-pound guy, and for a five-hundred-pound fat ass to actually squeeze himself down a one-foot wide chimney." Yami's jaw dropped.

"Where did you hear that language!" Yami demanded.

"From you, Joey, and Kaiba." Yugi said. (A/N: Ouch…that hurt.) He continued to look out the window.

Yami was silent for a second, then said "Look, I don't ever want to hear you saying words like that again." Yugi said nothing, but Yami knew he got the message. "Yugi," he continued. "I want you to go to bed." Yugi sighed and reluctantly got off the windowsill and crawled into bed. Yami sat on the edge of the bed. "What's gotten into you?" he asked as he caressed Yugi's face.

"I can't tell you!" Yugi said, jerking away.

"Yes you can," Yami said gently.

"No!" Yugi said. "You'll just get mad!"

"I'll get mad if you don't tell me!" Yami said sternly, glaring at Yugi. Yugi fell silent. Yami was about to scold him again, when he noticed that Yugi was crying. "Yu—?"

"I want everything to go back to way it was!" Yugi said forcefully. "I want everything to be normal again! I want mom to come back!" Yugi hugged his knees and began to cry. Yami frowned sympathetically and tried to pull Yugi into a hug, but Yugi jerked away. Yami's frown deepened. He sighed, told Yugi goodnight, turned the lights off and shut the door as he left. He went to his own room and sat on his bed. Truth was, he still missed Anzu too…but ever since he had met Seigyoku, his longing for her was quickly fading. He knew that pretty soon, he would be able to talk about her without a second thought. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"You okay?" he heard someone say. Yami opened his eyes and saw Joey standing in the doorway. Yami smiled.

"How do you always know when I feel like crap?" Yami asked.

"We're all psychic!" Seto said as he walked in the room behind Joey. Yami chuckled as his friends sat next to him on each side.

"So," Joey started. "What happened?" Yami explained everything that happened. He sighed when he finished.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" he said covering his face with his hands. Joey and Seto fell silent.

"Spending time with Seigyoku did work?" Seto asked.

"Let's not go back to that…" Joey said, remembering what had happened. Seto blinked and Yami sighed.

"You think he'll feel better tomorrow?" Yami asked. Joey and Seto looked at each other…reading each other's mind.

"Oh yeah!" Joey said.

"Most definitely!" Seto said. They both smiled and Yami did the same. They said goodnight to each other and went to their rooms.

The next morning, Yugi was still depressed and didn't want to come downstairs. Yami didn't make a big commotion about it; he just figured Yugi would feel better later. However, when six o'clock p.m. chimed on the living room clock, Yami was starting to worry. "Okay," Joey said. "Now what?"

"How about you shut up?" Seto said. Joey glared at him.

"How about you two get along like the good friends you are and actually try to make this holiday, seem like a holiday!" Seigyoku shouted. All the men looked at her with wide eyes. "Well you should!" she added.

"That was cool," Mokuba said. Seto glared at him. "Well it was," he added.

"May I go talk to Yugi?" Seigyoku asked. Yami was reluctant, but nodded. Seigyoku got up and went to Yugi's room; bringing a semi-small box with her. After the boys heard the door close, they rushed upstairs and peered through the small crack in the door.

Yugi looked up as Seigyoku walked in. He glared at her. "Uhm, hi?" she said. Yugi's glare deepened. Seigyoku sighed. "Look, I'm just gonna come out and say it; your dad's worried about you." She continued. "Well, it's not just him; it's Joey and Kaiba and Mokuba." Yugi fell silent and his glare softened. "I'm new to this lifestyle too. You and your dad got this family-type-thing going with the Kaibas and Joey and then here I come not knowing how things are done…so yeah, I'm confused." By now, Yugi's glare had disappeared and he was now looking at his feet guiltily. Seigyoku frowned. _"Wonder if I can make his laugh…"_ she thought. "That's all," she said. "I've just about spilled my guts." Yugi looked up at her. "Anything else you need?" she asked. "Heart? Lungs? Kidneys? I got two to those!" Yugi started to laugh. Seigyoku smiled. She grabbed the box she had bought with her. "Here," she said. Yugi blinked and cocked his head slightly. "It's a gift. Merry Christmas?" Yugi took the box and slowly unwrapped it. He pulled out some light blue pajamas with crescent moons, stars, and suns on it. "I wore them when I was your age," Seigyoku said. "But boys can wear them too, don't get me wrong!" Yugi nodded as he neatly folded the pajamas back in the box and put it on his nightstand. Seigyoku put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. He looked up at her. "I'm not here to replace your mother," she said. "I could never do that; all I want to do is make you and your dad happy." Yugi smiled and Seigyoku did the same. "Wanna go downstairs now?" she asked gently. Yugi hesitated, but then slowly nodded. Seigyoku stood up and Yugi raised up his arms. She blinked, confused. "Uh," she said. "What am I suppose to do?" Yugi giggled.

"You're suppose to pick me up!" He giggled again.

"Oh!" She said. She picked him up and gave him a firm hug. Yugi wrapped his arms around her neck. She smiled to herself. "Let's go." She headed for the door.

All the men rushed back downstairs, taking their normal seats. Seigyoku came downstairs with Yugi in her arms. Yugi jumped down from her hold and ran to his dad, smiling. Yami smiled at him and ruffled his hair. Yugi climbed onto the chair and hugged his father. "Love you daddy," he said.

Yami smiled, wrapped his arms around his son, and said "I love you too…"

Joey smiled and walked over to Yugi. "Ready to start?" he asked. Yugi nodded excitedly. Yami smiled as Yugi walked towards his gifts with Joey. Yami got up and walked over to Seigyoku. "He took to you?" Yami asked, trying to sound unknowing.

"Yep," she said, smiling. Yami wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered into her ear. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him as well. Yami kissed her softly; Seigyoku was caught off guard, but ended up going on with it. They each sighed gently as the pulled apart. Someone cleared their throat, making both of them look. Joey and Seto stood there with smug smiles on their faces. Yami and Seigyoku blushed.

The holiday then continued. Everyone exchanged gifts and they all enjoyed a Christmas dinner. The normal tradition had returned…When the dinner was over and the dished had been cleaned and put away, they all moved back to the living room to chat. As the adults were talking, Yugi fell asleep in Yami's arms. "He fell asleep?" Seigyoku asked surprised.

"He tires out easily." Yami explained. Seigyoku smiled as the peaceful sleeping Yugi. Yami smiled and gently put Yugi in her arms. Seigyoku blinked.

"What am I—?" Seigyoku started to say.

"You're supposed to go tuck him into bed." Joey said, chuckling lightly.

"Oh," Seigyoku said. She got up and headed for the stairs.

"Do you have no experience as a 'mom' whatsoever?" Seto asked as she was going up the stairs.

"I didn't baby-sit much as a teenager," she said. "I only had one little brother." She continued up the stairs and to Yugi's room. Once inside, she put Yugi in his bed and pulled the covers to his shoulders. As she turned to leave, the window burst open and a cold, demonic wind came through. Seigyoku rushed to it and closed it before Yugi woke up. She turned around again to leave, without a second thought. She gently closed the door and smiled to herself as she walked downstairs.

Yugi yawned in the middle of the night. A small light caught his sight in the corner of his eye. He turned around. "Mommy?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: No Happy New Year**

New Year's Day didn't take to arrive. Seigyoku had decided to spend that holiday with the Motou family as well. "So," she asked. "What do you guys do on New Year's?"

"We usually sit on the roof and watch the fire works!" Yugi said excitedly. Seigyoku smiled at him. Lately Yugi had been more social with her. She was hoping that, eventually, she and Yugi could have the normal mother/son relationship.

"Really?" Seigyoku asked. "That sounds fun." Yugi nodded. Yami smiled as the two talked back and forth. Ever since Yugi and Seigyoku had patched things up on Christmas, he couldn't stop smiling. He heard Yugi go upstairs; he didn't know what for since he had been daydreaming. The phone started to ring. Yami answered it.

"Hello?" he said. "What!" Seigyoku looked at him worriedly. "When!" Yami continued. He then glanced at the clock. "Don't let him go; I'll be over as soon as I can!" He hung up the phone and quickly grabbed his car keys and coat.

"What—?" Seigyoku started to ask.

"I'll explain later!" Yami said hurriedly. "Just watch Yugi until I get back!" He ran outside, jumped into his car, and drove off quickly. Seigyoku watch the car go. She slowly went back inside. Yugi had come downstairs and saw a little of what had happened. He had a worried look on his face. Seigyoku blinked then smiled.

"Hey," she said.

"What's wrong with daddy?" Yugi asked. Seigyoku hesitated.

"Uh," she started. "There was a slight emergency. He'll be back later…I promise." She smiled reassuringly. Yugi looked at the floor worriedly. Seigyoku frowned, then walked over to Yugi. He looked up at her. "Everything will be okay," she said, forcing herself to smile. Yugi couldn't smile, this made Seigyoku frown. She hugged Yugi gently. "C'mon Yugi," she started. "Everything's gonna be alright. Once your dad gets back, he'll explain everything." Yugi was still silent. "I know you don't believe me," Seigyoku said, hugging Yugi a little firmer. "Probably cause I'm new and all, but I wouldn't lie to you. I know your dad and I have only been together for almost five months, but I do care about you." Yugi blinked and got up from the hug.

"You do?" he asked. Seigyoku was somewhat hurt by that.

"Yes," she said.

"Then how come we didn't play The Game yet?" he asked.

Seigyoku blinked. "What 'Game'?"

"The one Mommies and Sons are supposed to play." he said. Seigyoku was confused.

"Uh," she said. "Yugi, I don't have any children," she explained. "You'll have to show me this 'Game'." Yugi smiled.

"Follow me," he said. He started to go upstairs. Seigyoku followed. "Mommy used to say that if moms really, really cared about their sons, they would play this Game."

"Does your dad play this 'Game' too?" Seigyoku asked.

"No," Yugi explained. "He can't play it with me. He could only play it if I had a sister." Seigyoku thought about it.

"So only moms and sons can play and only dads and daughters can play it together?" she asked. Yugi nodded. He opened his bedroom door, let Seigyoku in, then got on his bed. He took off his shoes and socks and put them out of the way. Seigyoku sat on the edge of the bed.

"Now what?" she asked. Yugi crawled over to her. Seigyoku was a bit nervous when he got close. First, Yugi put his hands on her breasts. Seigyoku didn't think anything of it, since Yugi was so young. As she looked at Yugi, he quickly leaned forward and kissed her. Seigyoku was taken back by this. At first she thought it was a cute mother/son kiss, but when she realized Yugi was holding it, she stood up off the edge of the bed breaking the kiss. "Yugi…" she said out of shock. Yugi looked at her, confused. Seigyoku was so stunned she wasn't sure what to do. She backed out of the room and went downstairs and to the kitchen, trying to calm down. Yugi was left confused.

"_What did I do wrong?"_ he thought.

Seigyoku paced in the kitchen. Maybe she was taking this the wrong way. What if it was suppose to be a mother/son kiss? Then she was freaking out over nothing. She would just have to wait for Yami to get back. Every now and then Seigyoku would glance at the clock. Slowly, noon turned to five. Once it was five, Seigyoku heard Yami's car pull into the drive way. "Thank God," she said as she rushed into the living room. Yami was walking inside. "Yami," she started. "We need to talk." Yami could see that she was somewhat hysterical.

"So," he said. "You've seen the news?" Seigyoku blinked.

"No!" she said. "I've been busy worrying my ass off to watch the news!"

"Sei," Yami said gently. "Something's wrong…"

"What?" she asked, now scared.

Yami sighed. "Kaiba…I mean Seto…" he sighed again. "Seto was hurt today."

"How?" Seigyoku asked. Yami looked at the floor. "Yami?"

"He got shot…" he finally said.

"What…?" Seigyoku asked almost whispering.

"He was walking with Joey and Mokuba…I guess they were going to a meeting…then Seto just fell to his knees and they saw blood…" Yami trialed off, tears filling his eyes. Seigyoku slowly sat down in a chair in shock. "I have to go talk to Yugi…" Yami said, after gathering himself. Seigyoku could only nod slowly. As Yami walked up the stairs, Seigyoku had already forgotten about what she had wanted to tell Yami…

Explaining what had happened to Seto to Yugi wasn't easy. Yami couldn't go into detail, due to Yugi's age. Also he didn't want Yugi thinking the world is a cruel and corrupted place. Yami did promise, however, that they would go visit Kaiba…eventually.

Weird….seemed longer written. Anyways…I wanna apologize for not updating sooner…I'm usually on time with this stuff. I wanna give a shout-out to all of you who have been Reading & Reviewing. Trust me…I'm gonna look into your stories! Remember: "Celebrities are nothing without their fans!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Unknown**

Yami decided to take Yugi to visit Seto a week later. As they walked through the dead halls of the hospital, a sick feeling gripped them. Once they reached Seto's room, Yami gently knocked. "Come in," Joey said. Yami stepped inside as Yugi clinged to his arm.

"_Oh God,"_ Yami thought. Seto was hooked up to all kinds of machines, half of them Yami didn't know what they were for. Yami walked over to Joey, who was leaning against the wall, and Yugi went to Mokuba, who was sitting in a chair next to the bed. "So," Yami whispered to Joey. "How is he?"

Joey sighed and whispered "Stable, doc says if he doesn't wake up by the end of next month…we should start planning a funeral." Yami looked at Joey wide-eyed. "It's what they said."

Yami glared at the floor. "I cannot believe they told that to Mokuba." Both adults fell silent.

"It should be me in that bed." Joey whispered.

Yami looked at him wide-eyed again. "No—!" he started.

"Yes!" Joey whispered. "I'm the body-guard! I'm supposed…." He trailed off, taking in a quick breath. Yami looked at his friend sympathetically.

"Its okay." he said, putting his hand on Joey's shoulder. "We'll get through this…"

Mokuba sat there…just staring at Seto as the slept. That's right…he was sleeping…he wasn't in a deadly coma…Seto was too strong for that. Mokuba reached out and held Seto's hand. He squeezed it tightly. It was warm…warm with life. Seto was not going to die like this…he was way too strong. _"C'mon bro,"_ Mokuba thought. _"You got through Gozaburo…you can get through this."_ Tears filled Mokuba's eyes but they never fell.

Yugi looked at Mokuba, then back at Seto. Mr. Kaiba looked funny with all the tubes and straws all over him…and he was breathing funny too. He watched Mokuba reach out and hold Seto's hand. Yugi wondered it he should do the same. He wondered why everyone was making a big deal out of Seto taking a nap.

The door opened and two men walked in. One was wearing a black overcoat and the other was carrying a small notepad. "Mr. Kaiba," the one in the overcoat said.

"The name's Mokuba…" Mokuba said, clenching his fists.

"Yes, well we still have some questions." the first one finished. The second got his notepad ready.

"I already told you everything." Mokuba said. They were all silent.

"Who are you?" The man in the overcoat asked Yami. Yami blinked.

"Yami Mouto," he said. "A family friend." The man with the notepad wrote that down. "And you are?" Yami asked.

"I'm the detective assigned to this case." The man said. "And this is my assistant." He said, referring to the man with the notebook. "So Mr. Mouto, where were you when all this happened?" Yami blinked again.

"At home, with my son and girlfriend." The assistant wrote that down.

"Can they verify that? The detective asked. Yami nodded. "Where's your son?"

"Yugi," Yami said. Yugi turned and walked over to his father. "This is my son," The detective looked at Yugi, who was trying to hide behind his father's legs.

"Was your father home?" he asked. Yugi immediately nodded. They were all silent again. The door opened again and a woman walked in. She had long blonde hair and shining blue eyes. She glared at the detective when she noticed him.

"What are you doing here!" she shouted. Before he could answer, she continued. "No more questions! You are not allowed to disturb the guests in my hospital! GET OUT!" She shoved them out the room and slammed the door. She sighed heavily and turned around, facing all the boys. "Welcome," she said more calmly. Yami and Joey stood stunned.

"This is our company doctor." Mokuba explained. The woman smiled.

"Dr. Samara Kaeri," she said holding out her hand. Yami and Joey shook hands with her. She then noticed Yugi. "Aw!" she said. "You're so adorable." Yugi tried to smile, but couldn't. Samara smiled and reached into her hospital coat pocket. "Here," she said to Yugi as she handed him a small candy bar. He blinked, then slowly took it.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kaeri." Yugi said.

"I'm not married." She corrected. Mokuba chuckled. Samara glared at him as she walked over to Seto's beside. "Sorry I got here late," she said to Mokuba. He said nothing. "If it makes you feel better," she continued. "I'm gonna look over Seto myself to see if he's gonna live."

"He IS going to live!" Mokuba shouted, standing up and knocking down his chair. Joey walked over to him.

"Mokuba, it's okay," he said.

"No!" Mokuba shouted, turning and facing Joey. "No it's not! It should be you in that bed! NOT SETO! No one cares about you!" Joey showed no reaction. "You have no family, you have no life…" Mokuba started to cry. Joey pulled him into a hug.

"Shh," Joey whispered. "It's okay, everything will be okay." He took Mokuba out the room. Samara, Yami and Yugi were left. Samara cleared her throat, making Yami look at her. "I've seen worse," se said. Yami said nothing. Samara began her examination over Seto. Yami watched her check the machines and jot down notes on her clipboard. Yami picked up Yugi and walked over to the bed.

"May I ask you some questions?" he asked.

"Yeah," Samara said casually.

"Where was he…?" Yami trailed off.

"Three inches from the heart." She said. Yami shivered. He looked down at Seto. Yugi leaned on Yami's chest. Yami held him close.

"What are his chances?" he asked. Samara hesitated, thinking.

"Well," she started. "The doctors say he has a thirty percent chance of coming out of this, but I plan to prove them wrong." Yami said nothing. "Mr. Kaiba's a really good boss…I hope I can help…I owe him a lot…" She fell silent. Yami looked at her, smiled slyly, and raised an eyebrow.

"_A crush maybe?"_ he thought. "What's your relationship with Kaiba?" he asked.

Samara blushed a deep red. "Uh…well…he's my employer…" she said. Yami smiled again. Samara continued to work. Yami asked her a few more questions about Seto's condition, then he left. As they were driving home, Yugi looked at his father.

"Is Mr. Kaiba gonna die?" he asked. Yami hesitated to answer.

"Yugi," he started. "There's a chance that he will…and there's a he won't…all we can do it hope…" Both of them fell silent. Yugi looked out the car window.

Later that night, after Yugi went to bed, Yami went back to the hospital. As he approached Seto's room, he saw the two detectives were back. They were talking to Mokuba and Joey. "Mr. Mouto," the detective greeted. Yami nodded.

"Do you need more answers from me?" Yami asked them.

"No," the detective said. "We're just here to explain the evidence." Yam nodded again. "Well," the detective continued, "From the bullet we discovered, or rather received from the surgery, we've found out this." The men were silent, so the detective continued. "First off," he started again. "We still don't know what kind of gun was used to shoot Mr. Kaiba."

"How can you not know!" Mokuba asked, almost yelling. Joey put his hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

"Well," the detective said. "We thought it would be, most likely be a pistol but the bullet was either too small or too big for every gun we tried." The men were silent again. "Also," the detective continued. "There were no grooves or markings on the bullet."

"What!" Joey and Mokuba shouted. Yami blinked.

"I'm not familiar with guns…" Yami said.

"After you pull the trigger," Mokuba explained "As the bullet passes through the gun it turns and as it turns the gun leave very distinctive marks. That's how bullets are matched too guns; but these idiots are saying there's no markings; which is impossible!"

The detective sighed. "Also," he said. "The angle he was shot at doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean?" Joey asked.

"Well, from the angle, it looks like someone from the Heavens shot him…" the detective said. Yami, Joey, and Mokuba looked at each other confused.

As the month of January crept by, Mokuba slipped into a depression that only got worse at Seto's death-date got closer. Joey had decided to live with Mokuba so he wouldn't do anything drastic. Once the end of January hit, Mokuba lost all hope. Yami and Joey did their best to keep Mokuba with them, but it only seemed to be getting worse. On February first, they decided to go visit Kaiba. This time, Seigyoku tagged along. Once they reached Kaiba's room, Yami stopped Seigyoku and whispered "Trust me, it's pretty bad." She nodded.

"I SAID GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Everyone blinked.

"S-Seto?" Mokuba said. They all rushed inside. What they say shocked them. Seto Kaiba, who was very much awake, was throwing random things at Samara.

"Mr. Kaiba, I—!" She was cut off by Seto's cell phone crashing against the wall.

"I WANT OUT!" Seto repeated.

"Big brother…" Mokuba said. Seto blinked and looked at his friends.

"Hi Moki," he greeted smiling. Mokuba ran to his brother and hugged him tightly.

"Oh Seto," Mokuba said through his sobs. "I thought I would lose you." Seto smiled sympathetically and wrapped his arms around Mokuba.

"It's okay," he said softly. Yami, Joey, and Seigyoku smiled. They decided to let Seto and Mokuba have their moment. Yami looked at Samara, who had fallen to her knees and was now shaking violently out of fear. Yami elbowed Joey gently and they quickly walked over to Samara.

"You okay?" Yami asked Samara. She opened her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm pretty used to the rantings of men.

Seigyoku blinked at her. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Samara Kaeri." she said. Seigyoku let out a squeal that made everyone jump.

"Samara!" she said. "It's me, Seigyoku!" Samara blinked, then squealed along with Seigyoku as they hugged each other. The boys blinked.

"We were friends in high school!" Samara said excitedly.

Yami smiled. "It's a small world, huh Sei?" Seigyoku nodded happily. Seigyoku helped Samara up and they took a seat in some of the available chairs. Mokuba finally stopped hugging Seto and Joey gave him a chair to sit in.

"It's great to see you…" Joey said to Kaiba. Seto smiled as he laid back up against his pillows.

He sighed before saying "I missed you guys," They were all silent. He continued. "At times, I could hear your voices…but I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or if they were real." He sighed again. "How's Yugi?"

"He's at school right now," Yami said. "But he really misses you." Seto smiled and Yami did too.

"Samara?" Seto asked.

"Sir?" she said looking up.

"When can I get out of here?" Seto asked, looking at the ceiling. Samara thought for a minute.

"If you're lucky, by tonight." He nodded. They continued, the best they could with casual conversation. Later, Yami bought Yugi, who was very excited to see Kaiba awake. While Yugi was there, two nursed came in and checked on Seto. Samara bought Seto a release form and Seto filled it out. After the nurses left, Samara signed it and that gave Seto permission to leave. Samara and Seigyoku left the room to give Seto some privacy to dress. Joey and Yami had to help Seto put his shirt on, since he couldn't raise his hands very high. Mokuba couldn't help but stare at the stitches on Seto's chest and upper back. Seto noticed the worried look in Mokuba's eyes and hugged him firmly. Mokuba felt the tears come back, but he didn't let them fall. Once Seto had gathered his things, he began to leave. He stopped to talk to Samara.

"I want to apologize," he said. "For the way I acted."

"It's okay," Samara said. "I've seen worse." Seto held out his hand. Samara flinched first, thinking Kaiba was going to hit her, but she soon realized he wasn't and shook his hand.

"As jumpy as ever," Seigyoku said. Samara glared at her. "When are you off?" Seigyoku asked. Samara shrugged.

"You have to ask Mr. Kaiba." Samara said. Seigyoku made a face.

"Uh, do you have to call him that?" Seigyoku asked Samara. Samara blinked. "I call him 'Seto'." Samara blinked and said nothing.

"So," Yami asked. "How long have you been working for Seto?"

"Since I got out of college," Samara said. Joey and Yami stared at Samara. "About a year," she added.

"You just got out?" Seigyoku asked, shocked. Samara nodded. "No wonder I couldn't find you!" Samara blinked.

"You were looking for me?" Seigyoku nodded. Samara frowned. "I just locked myself in my studies…" she trialed off. Seigyoku smiled.

"Don't worry about it," Seigyoku said. "We're together now!" Samara smiled.

"Welcome to out little family." Joey greeted. Samara giggled as Joey playfully put his arm around her shoulders. Once they got to the entrance of the hospital, they quickly walked to their cars and went home before the press arrived.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: First Valentine**

Joey volunteered to watch over Seto as he recovered, since Mokuba had to go back to college. Yami called every now and then to check on them and also gave Yugi a chance to talk with Seto and Joey. On the Monday before Valentine's Day, Yami decided to give Seigyoku a call. The phone rang three times before someone answered. "Hello?" a male voice said.

"Is Seigyoku there?" Yami asked.

"No!" the voice said forcefully. It was followed by a cracking sound and a loud thud. Yami looked at the phone confusingly.

"Hi Yami!" he heard.

"Sei?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. Before he could even ask, she answered "That was my brother, Gohan, on the phone. The cracking noise was me breaking his glasses when I punched him and then the thud was him falling to the floor." Yami fell silent. Afterwards, he sighed heavily.

"Sei," he said "I want to talk to you about something." Seigyoku frowned. As Gohan got up, he looked at Seigyoku worriedly.

"Okay," she said nervously.

"We've been going out for a while now," he said. "And I was wondering…" He trialed off. He took a deep breath and finished. "If you would like to come live with me." There were three seconds of silence, then Seigyoku let out the loudest squeal Yami had ever heard. He held the phone an arm's length away and still heard her loud and clear.

"Yes!" she said over and over excitedly. "What time?" she asked. Before Yami could answer, she said "Is five good?"

"Sure…" Yami managed to say.

"Love you!" she said excitedly before hanging up. Yami blinked and hung up the phone. He began to walk to the stairs. "Yugi!" he called before going upstairs. Yugi opened his door and saw Yami approaching.

"Yeah daddy?" he said. Yami picked him up and walked into his room.

"We need to talk." He said. Yugi frowned nervously.

"What did I do?" he asked. Yami hugged him as he sat down on the bed.

"Nothing," he reassured. "Listen," he continued. Yugi looked up at Yami. Yami sighed again. "I know you don't like Seigyoku very much," he explained. Yugi blinked then frowned.

"She doesn't like me," Yugi said looking away. Now Yami was confused.

"Yes she does," Yami said gently. Yugi shook his head.

"She didn't finish," he said. Yami looked at him suspiciously.

"Did finish what?" Yami asked. Before Yugi could answer, Yami heard the doorbell. "Be right back," he said. He put Yugi down and went downstairs. He looked at him watch; 2:00 pm. Seigyoku still had three hours left. He opened the door and no one was there. He blinked and stepped outside to look around. Blinking again, he went back inside and back up the stairs to Yugi's room. Before opening the door he heard Yugi giggle and say "I love you." Slowly, Yami opened the door and stepped in. "Okay," Yami said, catching his son's attention. Yugi smiled at him. Yami sat back down on the bed and Yugi crawled into his lap. "Yugi, my point is," Yami continued. "I've asked Seigyoku to come live with us and I want her to be happy here, okay?" Yugi nodded. "Also you need to respect her." Yami added. "Remember what I told you?" Yugi nodded again.

"You said to call her 'Ms. Seigyoku'." Yugi answered. Yami nodded. They were both silent. "Are you gonna marry Ms. Seigyoku?" Yugi asked spontaneously. Yami blinked and gave him a weird look.

"Where…? Who told you that?"

"My teacher," Yugi answered. Yami blinked. "My teacher said that you go on a date, then go live with them, then you get married." Yami was still silent. "Are you?" Yugi asked again.

"Uh," Yami started. "Yugi, I can't tell you that right now."

"Why?" the curious toddler asked.

"Because…" Yami said. "Because something could happen; like we could split up or she could move away or…"

"Or she could die?" Yugi asked. Yami blinked.

"Yugi," he said sternly. "Don't even wish death on someone, understand?" Yugi blinked, then nodded.

"Daddy?" Yugi asked looking up at his father.

"Hm?" Yami asked looking down into Yugi's eyes.

"Can we go get a snack?" Yugi asked. Yami smiled and nodded. He picked up Yugi and headed for the kitchen. Yami fixed some ice cream for both of them. As they sat at the table and ate, the teased and laughed at each other.

Later, while Yami was cleaning those dishes, the doorbell ran. He dried his hands and answered the door. "Hi Yami!" Seigyoku said, holding her suit case. Yami smiled and took the suit case from her.

"You're a little early." Yami said as she walked in.

"Yeah well," she started. "It was either come early or face my mother's crying spree." Yami blinked. Seigyoku continued. "But anyways, glad to be here!" Yami smiled again. "Can I ask you something?" Seigyoku asked with a worried look. Before she could ask, a large, orange tabby cat came inside and sat in front of Yami's feet. Yami blinked at it. It let out a long meow. "Uh, Yami," Seigyoku said. "Meet Kiwi." Yami blinked again.

"Kiwi?" he asked. Seigyoku nodded.

"Named after the fruit; not the bird." She added, as she picked him up. "Can he stay?" Seigyoku asked.

"I don't know…" Yami said nervously.

"He's really social," Seigyoku said.

"He's tamed?" Yami asked. Seigyoku nodded. "He won't hurt Yugi?" Yami asked.

"Not at all!" she reassured. Yami sighed in defeat and nodded. "Thank you!" Seigyoku said, giving Yami a hug. "Kiwi will be on his best behavior!"

"He's your responsibility." Yami told her.

"I know!" she said. Yami carried her suitcase upstairs, to the bedroom, and put it next to closet until she was ready to unpack. "So where's my room?" she asked, walking into the room. Yami blinked.

"Uh, Sei…" he said. "We're supposed to share a room, a bed, you know?" Seigyoku fell silent. "Unless you believe in the 'old-fashioned couple'…" Yami asked.

"No!" Seigyoku said. "It's just that you're my first really serious relationship and I never got this far before." Yami slowly walked over to Seigyoku. He hugged her.

"I'll make you as comfortable as possible." Yami said. Seigyoku smiled and hugged Yami as she leaned on his chest. They looked at each other and slowly leaned into to kiss. "AH!" Yami yelled in pain. Both looked down and saw Kiwi attacking Yami's leg.

"Kiwi!" Seigyoku said as she picked up the cat. "Don't do that!" she said sternly. She flicked him on the nose. Yami stared at her. "That's how I punish him!" she said. Yami glared at the cat. "Say you're sorry!" Seigyoku said to Kiwi. She held Kiwi up to Yami's face. Kiwi hissed at Yami and scratched his nose.

"Ow!" Yami said. He turned away and went to his bathroom to tend to his 'injuries'.

"Kiwi!" Seigyoku scolded. She put him down and Kiwi walked off to explore the house. Seigyoku walked to the bathroom and saw Yami looking in the mirror. "He doesn't usually do that…" she explained.

"Well he better not do that to Yugi!" Yami threatened. "Or he's out!"

Yugi sat on his bed reading a children's book. As he was turning the colorful pages, he heard his door creak open. He looked up from the book and saw no one there. Blinking he went back to the book. "Meow," Yugi put the book down and saw an orange tabby cat standing on his bed. He was staring at him with green eyes. Yugi blinked.

"Kitty?" he said as he reached out to pet it.

"Where is that monster anyways?" Yami asked.

"Who?" Seigyoku said. "Yugi?" Yami glared at her. "Oh!" she said "Kiwi, I don't know." They both got up to go look for the cat, but Yugi came into the room with Kiwi following him.

"Daddy!" Yugi said. "Look, it's a kitty!" Kiwi let out a meow.

"An evil kitty," Yami said, glaring at it. Seigyoku glared at him. Kiwi meowed again, then stood up on his hind legs, put his two front paws on Yugi's shoulders, and gently pushed his head on Yugi's cheek. Yugi giggled.

"Aw!" Seigyoku said. "How cute is that!"

"Not very," Yami answered. Again, Seigyoku glared at him.

"What do you have against pets?" Seigyoku asked.

"They're a heartbreak waiting to happen!" Yami argued.

"No!" Seigyoku said. "They're cute, fun, and energetic." As Yami and Seigyoku had they're quarrel, Yugi sat down and played with Kiwi on the bed. It was his laughter that made Yami and Seigyoku stop. "You like Kiwi, right Yugi?" Seigyoku asked sweetly. Yugi nodded. Yami rolled his eyes as Seigyoku smiled smugly at him.

"Whatever," Yami said. He headed downstairs and decided to start cooking supper. Yami enjoyed playing with Kiwi while Seigyoku unpacked her stuff. Once she was done, she went downstairs. She saw Yami cooking at the stove. She smiled at walked over to him. She leaned on his shoulder gently.

"Thanks for inviting me…" she said. Yami smiled at her.

"You're welcome," he said. He kissed her forehead gently. She smiled as she moved her hand to his and held it. Yami turned away from the stove and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. She smiled and rested her head on his chest. Again, Yami kissed her forehead. Soon their lips gently met the others…but the moment didn't last long since Kiwi attacked Yami's let again.

For the rest of the week, Yami had to deal with Kiwi's random attacks, while Yugi enjoying the cat's company. On Valentine's Day, Yami gave Seigyoku a grocery shopping list. "You don't go shopping much do you?" Seigyoku asked, looking at the two-columned list. Yami chuckled.

"I never really had the time." he explained. Seigyoku smiled and put the list in her purse.

"Okay," she said. "I'll be back later." Before she turned to leave, Yami gave her a quick good-bye kiss. She smiled and left. Once Yami heard the car drive away, he went upstairs to Yugi's room. Yugi smiled when he saw his dad.

"Ready to go? Yami asked. Yugi nodded excitedly and grabbed his small duffle bag from under his bed. Yami then drove Yugi to Kaiba Mansion. Seto greeted him at the door. "Thanks so much," Yami said to him.

Seto just smiled and said "You deserve a night off."

"More like a night on!" Joey said as he came down the stairs. Yami glared at him, which made Joey burst into laughter, then he looked down at Yugi.

"Be good, okay?" Yami said.

"I will daddy." Yugi reassured. Yami smiled, kissed Yugi on the cheek, and left. Then he when to the local flower shop and picked up some roses.

Seigyoku put the groceries in the backseat of her car, then got in. She sighed as she started the car. _"The register had to break on my turn!"_ She started to turn into traffic, but another car came speeding by. "It's called the speed limit asshole!" She yelled to herself. Once she did get home, she could have been more annoyed. "Yami!" she said. No answer, she continued. "Next time you need groceries, go get them yourself! Traffic sucks around here!" There was still no answer. Angry with that, Seigyoku walked into the kitchen and put the groceries on the table. "YAMI!" she shouted. Still no answer. She huffed in anger; then she noticed a red rose on the counter. She blinked then picked it up. A note was under it. She picked it up. It said _"Go upstairs ♥"_. Seigyoku smiled to herself. "I like this game," she said out loud.

She quickly went upstairs. She walked into the bedroom. "Yami?" She asked as she walked into the room. She saw a cute black dress lying on the bed. Blinking at it, she walked to the bed and held it up. "I'm only wearing this for you," she said aloud, hoping Yami would hear. She quickly got out of her clothes, and slipped it on. She then noticed another rose was lying on the pillow. She walked over to it. This one read _"Go to the bathroom ♥"_. She walked over to the bathroom and saw some black heeled shoes. "Okay," she said aloud. She obviously knew to put them on. "I'm only doing this for you," she said aloud again. She saw another rose and note taped to the bathroom mirror. This note said _"Head downstairs ♥"_

She left the room and when she got to the stairs, she saw a small box on the first stair. She walked over to it and opened it. She gasped a sapphire necklace and bracelet shined back at her. She quickly put them on and went downstairs. She looked around the living room and saw nothing special, so she headed to the kitchen. There, she saw three candles lit in the middle of the table along with a set table and food. She walked closer to get a better look.

"You're beautiful." She heard a deep voice say. She smiled as Yami stepped out of the dark corner.

"How long did you plan this?" she asked. Yami wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed Seigyoku quickly.

"Never mind that," he said smiling. "Sit." Seigyoku smiled and sat down. Yami sat down opposite from her. Seigyoku looked down at the food.

"This is the food we ordered on our first date?" she asked.

"Yep," Yami answered.

"You don't miss much do you?" Seigyoku asked with a smile.

" I just have a good memory." Yami said, staring at her beauty. Seigyoku noticed this and blushed, which Yami thought made her look cute. They started to eat and continued with conversation as if they were on their first date again.

During the dinner, Seigyoku asked, "Where's Yugi?"

"Kaiba's," Yami answered quickly.

"Where's Kiwi?" She asked. Yami said nothing. He slyly raised an eyebrow. "Yami!" Seigyoku said worriedly, knowing her boyfriend and her pet had a rivalry.

"Relax," Yami said. "I didn't kill him…unfortunately." Seigyoku glared at him. "He's just pinned up in an empty guest room; food and all."

"Kay," Seigyoku said satisfied. They continued with their dinner. Once it was over, Yami put the dishes in the sink and looked at Seigyoku. "That was great," she said. "Very romantic," she added with a smile. Yami raised an eyebrow and smiled slyly. With one quick blow, all the candles were out and they were in pitch black. "Yami?" Seigyoku said with a blink. She fell silent when she felt Yami softly and slowly slipped his arms around her waist. "Ya—?" She started to say, but was interrupted by Yami's gentle kiss. She let out a soft sigh when it was over. Yami kissed her neck, then her cheek. Once Yami felt Seigyoku relax in her hold, he gently pulled her upstairs. Seigyoku was only guided by Yami, since the whole house was dark. Slowly, they both walked up the stairs and into the bedroom…

Yami kissed Seigyoku again once they were sitting on the bed. This time, he glided his tongue across her bottom lip, asking for entrance. Slowly and hesitantly, she gave him access. He pulled Seigyoku closer. She started to wrap her arms around Yami's neck. They made out until air became an issue. They pulled apart for oxygen, but stayed in each other's hold. As they took a break, Yami kissed Seigyoku's neck again. Seigyoku sighed softly, trying not to disturb Yami. She felt his hand glide down her back, then her side, and to her ankle. Then, with a flick of his wrist, her shoe was off. He did the same thing to her other side. Once that was done, without warning, Yami pulled Seigyoku closer and kissed her more deeply than ever before. As he started to unzip the back of her dress, Seigyoku started to unbutton his shirt. Seigyoku finished first; Yami rolled his shoulders back and his shirt fell to the floor. They both sighed gently. Yami slipped his hands on Seigyoku's shoulders and pulled down the top to her dress. They stopped kissing again for another short break. They looked deep into each others eyes. Yami leaned forward and Seigyoku started to lie down. Now, with Yami on top of her, he pulled off the rest of her dress. They started to make out for while, then Seigyoku started to undo Yami's pants. Once she was finished, she pulled them down to his knees and Yami took them off. Seigyoku went down and kissed Yami's neck. While she was doing that, Yami took off her bra. When finished, he gently ran his fingers down her back. She shivered with excitement. Again, they stopped to look deep in each others eyes…asking the same question. Yami kissed Seigyoku's cheek gently. With that, they removed their own underwear and let their bodies become one.

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**(( A/N: Okay….good lord what a chapter…NOW GOOD FANS OF MY WRITINGS; I NEED A FAVOR! For those of you who have been leaving reviews…thank you from the very depths of my heart. Those of you who have been reading and not leaving me anything…I would like you to leave a review for this chapter…just this one…PLEASE! This is the first time I write about people "doing it" and I would like to know how I did. Please & Thank you!))**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Crashing Lecture**

Yami awoke to a slight pressure being put on his chest. He kept his eye closed, but wondered what it was. He felt the pressure move upward slightly. Now it felt like two small hands. Yami knew it wasn't Yugi, since he was still at Kaiba's. Since Yami had just had sex with Seigyoku and with dirty thoughts filling his mind, he thought it was Seigyoku coming back for more. He smiled and kissed Seigyoku's cold, wet lips. She scooted back a little. Yami chuckled.

"Morning," he said.

"Meow," Yami eyes shot open. He looked up slightly and saw Kiwi sitting on his stomach. (A/N: If you don't get it, Yami kissed Kiwi the cat, thinking it was Seigyoku.) Kiwi meowed again. Yami glared at him and grabbed the scruff of Kiwi's neck.

Seigyoku happily walked down the hall, with a large T-Shirt on. It draped off one of one of her shoulders. She was satisfied with last night as she approached the bedroom. Suddenly Kiwi was thrown from the room and against the wall. "Kiwi!" She said in a panic as she picked up the cat. She looked inside the bedroom and saw an angry Yami going inside the bathroom. "What happened?" Seigyoku asked through the closed door.

"Nothing!" Yami shouted, refusing to tell the truth.

"Why did you throw Kiwi?" Seigyoku asked, getting angry herself.

"Because I wanted to!" he said back. Seigyoku decided to leave the issue alone. She put Kiwi down and started to get dressed.

Yami walked out of the bathroom in a white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. The hot shower really woke him up. He sighed as he turned around and was greeted by a pillow thrown in his face. He caught it and looked at Seigyoku. She was on the other side of the bed, with another pillow in her hands. "Don't ever throw my cat!" She said. Yami smiled and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I already did!" he said.

"Then perish!" Seigyoku said, throwing the pillow. Yami threw the one he had at her. "You bastard!" she said with a giggle when Yami's pillow hit her in the shoulder. The two continued for a while, until Yami came around the bed and grabbed Seigyoku around the waist and pulled her close. She giggled again as Yami kissed her on the cheek. "Let me go!" she said smiling, trying to get away from Yami's hold.

"No," Yami said, holding her a little closer. Kiwi meowed and they looked at him; he blinked and meowed again. "What's with him?" Yami asked.

"He's hungry!" Seigyoku said, as if to say 'AW!'. Yami rolled his eyes.

"Let him starve!" Yami said, hugging Seigyoku. Kiwi let out a short meow.

"No!" Seigyoku translated for her cat. She got away from Yami and Kiwi quickly followed her to his breakfast. Rolling his eyes, Yami went downstairs and started fixing breakfast. As he was fixing the omelets, Seigyoku came downstairs. "That smells good!" she said.

"Thanks," Yami replied. Seigyoku opened the refrigerator door and fixed two glasses of orange juice. Yami heard her go upstairs after setting the table. Once the omelets were down, Yami put them on plates and set them on the table. He turned and put the pan in the sink. When he turned around again to sit down and eat, he saw Kiwi on the table, sniffing his food. He glared at the cat and slapped it. Kiwi shook his head, backed up, and fell off the table. "Ha!" Yami said as he sat down. Kiwi hissed again and ran off.

"What did you do?" Seigyoku asked him from the living room as Kiwi ran passed her and up the stairs.

"Nothing," Yami lied. Seigyoku gave him a look, but sat down and started to eat. Once they were finished, Yami asked "Did you like it?"

Seigyoku nodded. "It was great!"

"Good," Yami said, standing up. "You clean the dishes." Seigyoku gave him a small glare as he stood up.

"I see your game here," she said as she gathered the dishes.

Yami finished his orange juice then said "Speaking of games," He put his glass in the sink. "Yugi said you didn't finish or…?" Seigyoku dropped a plate; it shattered as it hit the floor.

"Oh my God," she said.

"Seigyoku…?" Yami said, taking a step toward her.

"Yami!" Seigyoku said. Yami could tell she was hysterical. "Anzu…I mean….she hurt Yugi!" Yami rushed over to her and held her close.

"Shh," he said. "It's okay…" He gently sat her down at the table and looked at her. "Now," he continued. "What's wrong?" Seigyoku took a deep breath and told him everything: what Yugi had done, what Yugi had told her, and her own suspicions. When she was done, Yami just stood there, shocked.

"Yami…I," Yami stopped her by holding up his hand. He stood up.

"I'll talk to Yugi…" he said softly as he grabbed his car keys on his way to the door. Yami walked up to Kaiba Mansion and knocked. Joey answered.

"How was your night?" Joey asked with a smile.

"I'm going to kill you." Yami said with a glare.

"Please do," Seto said as he slowly walked down the stairs, Yugi coming behind him.

"Hi daddy!" Yugi said.

Yami smiled and kneeled down. "Hey son," he said as Yugi came to him. They hugged and Yami looked at Seto. "Hope he wasn't too much trouble…"

"No," Seto said. "He was good; like always."

"Daddy!" Yugi said excitedly. "Mr. Kaiba's all better!"

"He is?" Yami asked smiling.

"Yep," Seto said. "Samara took the stitches out last night."

Yami smiled. "Congrats," he said. They talked for a few more minutes, then Yami and Yugi left. "Had a good time?" Yami asked. Yugi nodded as he buckled in. "Yugi," Yami said nervously. Yugi looked at him. "We need to talk." He started to drive off. Yugi looked at his father. He could tell he was serious. "Yugi," Yami said again. "What did you and Mommy do when I wasn't home?" Yami's throat constricted and he felt his heartbeat increase.

"Am I in trouble?" Yugi asked nervously.

"No," Yami said quickly.

Yugi was silent for a few minutes. "We would play The Game." Yami sighed roughly, his throat and heart still going.

"What did you do during 'The Game'?" Yugi blinked, not understanding.

Yami gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Did Mommy ever kiss you or hug you in a strange, not-normal way?"

Yugi thought about it. "Sometimes," he said.

Yami swallowed hard. "Did Mommy ever take your clothes off?" Yugi nodded. Tears filled Yami's eyes. "Did she ever touch you in a funny way?" Yugi hesitated. Yami stopped at a red light. He turned to Yugi. "Did she touch you in…certain areas that made you uncomfortable?" The light turned green and Yami started to drive again.

"DADDY!" Yugi shouted. Yami turned and looked to his left. He saw the bright headlights of a huge black pick-up truck as it crashed into his Lamborghini.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: Again**

Yami slowly opened his eyes. He had a splitting headache and his left arm was killing him. He blinked then opened his eyes best he could. It didn't take him long to realize he was in a hospital bed. Looking around he saw that he only had an IV in his arm. He sighed, then saw Joey sleeping in a chair next to his bed. "Jo," he said, trying to speak. "Joey," He managed to say in a normal tone. Joey didn't wake up. "Joey!" Yami said a little bit louder. Joey awoke and saw Yami. He sat up immediately.

"Hey buddy!" he said happily.

"Where…what…?" Yami started.

"You're in a hospital," Joey started to explain. "You were in a car accident. And you're Lamborghini's totaled by the way. Oh, and Yugi's fine." Yami sat up immediately.

"Yugi!" he cried.

"Whoa," Joey said standing up. "It's okay. He's fine, I swear." Yami fell silent but still wasn't calm.

"Where is he?" Yami asked.

"With Seigyoku," Joey reassured. Yami sighed and laid back down. "She'll bring him by later." Joey sat down again. They were silent for a while.

"What happened?" Yami asked, to see if he remembered correctly.

"A truck crashed into your car," Joey stated.

"No shit!" Yami said angrily, glared at Joey. Joey said nothing for a few seconds, feeling slightly hurt.

"The weird thing is," Joey said. "That the owner said the keys were out and it was in park. Plus the street you were on isn't a hill; it's flat. No one knows how it went forward." Yami said nothing. "The cops said it had to be going at least sixty miles an hour. None of it really makes sense." Again they were both silent.

"When's Sei coming?" Yami asked, staring at the ceiling.

"She didn't say when I called her," Joey answered. Silence consumed the room permanently that time. Yami sighed and turned on his side. Memories of Yugi filled his mind…and Anzu. Now he remembered; Seigyoku had accused Anzu of molesting Yugi because he said something about a game….though it was kind of blurry. Yami started to feel sleepy. Slowly…his eyes fell shut.

Once again Yami opened his eyes. It was dark in the room now; only moonlight shined through a window big enough to light the whole room. No one was there…except Yugi who was asleep next to Yami. Yami smiled, tears burning his eyes. He turned on his right side; back to the windows and facing Yugi. He gently pulled the sleeping toddler closer to him. Yugi's face was red and swollen, obviously from crying. Yami gently kissed Yugi on the cheek and ran his fingers through his son's lightening bolt bangs. He then noticed a large bandage on Yugi's forehead. Yami blinked and gently lifted it up; five stitches. He sighed in relief, knowing it could have been worse. Yami watched Yugi sleep for a while, gently playing with his hair, his smile never leaving his face.

Yami awoke again in the morning, this time everyone was there. They all smiled when he sat up.

"Morning," Seto said softly. Yami smiled.

"You feeling okay?" Seigyoku asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Yami said with a nod. "I'm alright."

"Samara says you can leave this afternoon." Joey stated.

Yami blinked. "Samara? She's not my doctor." The door opened and the blonde walked in the room.

"Well," Samara explained. "If you work for Mr. Kaiba, you're my patient." Yami chuckled. "How do you feel?" she asked, getting her clipboard ready.

"A little sore," Yami said.

"Where?" she asked without looking at him.

"My left arm," Yami said, sitting up straighter.

"Hm," Samara wrote it down. "That's expected. We did X-Ray it. It's not broken." Yami nodded.

"What about Yugi?" Yami asked. He picked up Yugi, who was still sleeping, and cradled him in his arms.

"Oh he's fine," Samara explained. "Just that cut on his forehead from the windshield and all." Yami looked down at Yugi. "The owner," Samara continued. "Offered to either pay for the hospital bill or the car." Yami blinked. "Which do you want?" Yami thought about it.

"The car!" Joey said. "Put him in debt!" He smiled evilly.

"Be nice!" Seigyoku scolded.

"I'll think about it," Yami said. Samara nodded and handed him a small card. He blinked as he took it.

"It's the owner's card," she said. "Call him when you've made your decision." Yami nodded. After a quick check up by Samara, Yami and Yugi were able to leave. Yugi still didn't wake up. Yami worried about that when he got into Seto's limo.

"He stayed up till midnight," Seto explained. "Poor thing was scared to death about you." Yami looked down at Yugi and held him closer. He ran his fingers through Yugi's hair. Seigyoku, who was sitting on the right side of Yami, leaned on his shoulder. Yami kissed her on the cheek. They were taken to Seto's mansion. When they got there, Yami sat on Seto's couch and sighed heavily.

"Damn it," he said above a whisper. Joey blinked at him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Yami said. "Just a little tired."

"You want to go rest in a guest room?" Seto offered. "When you wake up, we'll fix you something to eat."

Yami smiled. "You don't mind?" Seto shook his head. Yami got up, thanked Seto, and went to a guest room. Before lying down on the bed, he took his shoes off and Yugi's too. He held Yugi close in his arms. He gently kissed Yugi's forehead and whispered "I love you." Slowly he closed his eyes and rested for an hour. When he woke up, he saw Yugi sitting up rubbing his eyes. "Hey," Yami said, with a smile. Yugi whirled around.

"Daddy?" he said. Yami nodded and smiled. He sat up. Yugi ran to his father and started to cry. Yami forced himself not to laugh at how cute Yugi was acting. He picked up Yugi and rocked him.

"It's okay," he said. "We're all right."

"I was scared," Yugi said through sobs.

"I know," Yami said. "I was too."

"You were?" Yugi asked looking up.

Yami nodded. "Yes, I was.." He gently wiped Yugi's tears away with his thumb. "When I woke up in the hospital, and you weren't next to me, I was afraid you were hurt." Yugi said nothing as he looked at his father. "But you're okay," Yami said. "All you have is a small cut on your forehead." Yami gave Yugi a firm hug. Yugi put his small arms around Yami's neck.

"It hurt," Yugi said.

"What?" Yami asked.

"The cut," Yugi explained. "When Ms. Samara was cleaning it and sewing it." Yami smiled gently. "Ms. Seigyoku was with me the whole time." Yugi finished. "She let me sit in her lap." Yami hugged Yugi again.

"Did you thank her?" he asked.

Yugi fell silent. "No…not yet, I mean." He admitted. "I was too worried about you."

Yami chuckled. "Well, be sure to thank her later, alright?" Yugi nodded. The door started to open. Both looked up as Seigyoku poked her head in.

"Hey guys," she said as she walked in and closed the door behind her. "Do you two feel better?" she asked, sitting on the bed. Yugi crawled out of Yami's arms and to Seigyoku. He sat on his knees and hugged her neck.

"Thank you," he said softly. Seigyoku put her arm around him.

"No big, I'm used to taking care of things like that." Yami smiled at her. Yugi looked up at Seigyoku and smiled. "You two hungry?" she asked. Yugi looked at Yami and Yami nodded once. They all got up, Yugi in Seigyoku's arms, and went to the dining room. Joey and Kaiba were already setting the table.

"Hey!" Joey said, when he noticed Yugi. He smiled and Yugi smiled too. Joey took him from Seigyoku. "You feeling better?" Yugi nodded. Joey started to put Yugi on his shoulders, but Seto swiped him from Joey. Joey glared at him and Seto gave Yugi a hug. "You mind!" Joey asked.

"No," Seto said calmly. Yugi giggled. Yami smiled and shook his head. Seigyoku stifled at laugh. Seto put Yugi in a chair and everyone started to sit down.

"What did Samara say about the stitches?" Yami asked Kaiba.

"She said they should be ready in two weeks and if he has a headache tomorrow do let him go to school." Seto explained. Yami nodded.

"You hungry?" Joey asked Yugi as he sat down.

"A little," he answered. Joey smiled lightly.

"You have insurance, right?" Seto asked Yami.

"Yeah," Yami answered. "But I'm not sure if 'driverless' counts."

"I'll help you out." Seto said. Yami nodded.

"What car are you going for now?" Joey asked. Yami shrugged.

"Get a Corvette!" Seigyoku said excitedly. Yami looked at her weirdly.

"Why?" he asked. "There's no room in that thing."

"But it looks good," She added with a smile. Yami rolled his eyes. Yugi giggled. Yami smiled at him.

Once the dinner was over and everything was cleaned up, Yami decided to head home. "Thanks, Seto." Yami said.

Seto smiled. "What are friends for?"

"I thought you know everything." Joey remarked. Seto glared at him as he smiled widely. Yami laughed and left with Seigyoku and Yugi. Yami saw Seigyoku's Mazda in the driveway and guessed that she had come here first and Seto had given her a lift to the hospital. As Yami got in the passenger side, he sighed.

"What?" Seigyoku asked, looking at him and starting the car.

"It's so….small." Yami said. Seigyoku glared at him and put the car in reverse.

"Deal with it!" she said as she drove. The ride home was mostly silent.

Once they did get home, Seigyoku opened the door and said "Kiwi! I'm home!" The happy tabby ran from the kitchen and started rubbing on Seigyoku's leg. She kneeled down and started petting the car. "Did you miss me?" A long meow was her answer. She smiled. Yugi started to pet the cat too. Kiwi happily let Yugi pet him.

"He missed us dad!" Yugi said happily.

"He missed you two," Yami said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh Yami," Seigyoku said. "Kiwi's just protective. He doesn't hate you."

"Yeah right," Yami answered. Kiwi gave a short meow. Seigyoku giggled. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Kay," Seigyoku answered. Yami headed upstairs, unaware of Kiwi following him. Yami started up the water and got in as soon as it was warm enough. As he was taking his showers, he noticed small cuts and bruises, mostly on his left side, from the accident. It didn't bother him; he knew they would all be gong by the end of the week. After his shower, he dried himself off and put on his robe. He walked into the bedroom and saw Kiwi lying down on his pillow. Kiwi meowed at him. Yami ignored him and looked in his drawer for his pajamas. Once he was dressed he laid down on his bed. Kiwi got up and got on Yami's chest again. Yami opened one eye and looked at the cat.

"You remember what happened last time you were on me right?" he asked. A meow was his answer. "What do you want?" Yami asked. Kiwi gave another shorter. Yami sighed and started to gently pet Kiwi, who started to purr as Yami started to daydream. The crash kept replaying in his mind. He wondered about all the deadly 'what ifs'. If that truck had been going fast enough, Yugi would be…an orphan. His eyes started to burn and when he opened them, tears fell. Yami was sort of surprised he was crying. Maybe he was more worried than he thought. He started to wipe his tears away, when Kiwi rubbed his head against Yami's cheek, as if wiping the tears himself. Yami blinked at Kiwi, who meowed. Yami smiled. "You're not half-bad." Kiwi started to purr again and slightly wagged his tail.

"Daddy?" Yami heard. He looked up and saw the cutest site ever. Yugi was in his doorway, wearing the moon and star pajamas Seigyoku had gotten him, but the sleeves and legs were much too long.

Yami chuckled. "C'mere," he said. "I'll fix it." Yugi stumbled over to Yami, surprised his father by not tripping at all. Yami picked him up and sat him on the bed and began rolling up the sleeves. Seigyoku walked in when he was finished.

"Hey you two," she said. She sat on the edge of the bed.

"Look Ms. Seigyoku!" Yugi said, showing her his rolled up sleeves.

"Oh c'mon!" She said jokingly. "I wasn't that tall!" Yugi giggled.

"Actually," Yami said as he finished rolling Yugi's pant's leg. "You were." Seigyoku glared at him.

"I still like them," Yugi said referring to the pajamas. Seigyoku smiled.

"Glad to hear it." she said. Yugi smiled. Kiwi meowed and they all looked at him. "Aw!" Seigyoku said. "He feels left out!" Yami rolled his eyes.

"Kiwi," Yugi said as he began to pet the cat. Kiwi purred loudly as Seigyoku start to scratch his neck. "He likes it dad," Yugi said. Yami smiled at Yugi. He glanced at the digital alarm clock. It was 9:30 pm.

"Well," Yami said. "It's past your bedtime."

"Aww!" Yugi said as Yami picked him up. Yami gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Say goodnight to Seigyoku." Yami said. Yugi did; Seigyoku stood up and gave Yugi a hug. He hugged her neck. She gently kissed his forehead.

"Night," she whispered.

"Night," Yugi replied. Yami smiled and bought Yugi to his room and tucked him in.

"Night son," he said.

"Night dad," Yami turned off the lights as he walked out and Yugi turned on his side. Yami and Seigyoku went to bed as well.

As they all slept, Yami digital alarm clock slowly turned to 6:06:06am. Yami and Seigyoku awoke to Yugi's screaming. They quickly slipped on their robes and rushed into Yugi's room; his pajama shirt was covered in blood. "Yugi!" Yami shouted as he took the toddler out of the bed sheets.

"I'll be good! I'll be good!" Yugi screamed over and over through his sobs. Seigyoku tried to help, but when Yugi saw her he desperately tried to get away. She backed off and let Yami try.

"Yugi!" he said trying to calm his down. "It's okay, I'm here now!" Yugi settled down slightly. Yami bought him into the bathroom and sat Yugi down on the edge of the sink. He saw that the blood was coming from his formerly-stitched cut. It was as if it had never been stitched. "Seigyoku," Yami said from the bathroom. "Go get the first aid kit from my bathroom."

"Okay!" she answered. Yami heard her run from the room and come back a few minutes later. She handed him a small white box.

"Thanks," he said. He opened it and got some gauze from it. He slowly wrapped it around Yugi's head to control the bleeding. Then he got a breakable ice pack from the kit. He broke it and it became cold. "Hold this to your forehead," Yami told him gently. Yugi did so and Yami picked him up. "Seigyoku," he said. "Get the car started," She nodded and went downstairs. Yami grabbed his cell phone from his bedroom and called Seto as he walked to Seigyoku's car.

"Hello?" a very tired voice said.

"Seto?" Yami asked.

"Do you know what time it is?" the CEO asked.

"I know," Yami said. He got into Seigyoku's care and she started driving. "But Yugi's stitches were…uh…ripped. Can you get Samara at your house?"

"Yeah!" Seto said, now awake. Seigyoku was now at a red light when Yami had finished the conversation. She glanced at Yugi, who was still slightly crying into Yami's robe. She always felt so useless when Yami and Yugi had moments like this.

They arrived at Kaiba Mansion Samara's car was already parked. Yami didn't have to knock once he got to the door. Joey had been waiting at the window and let them in.

"He okay?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," Seigyoku answered. "It's just bleeding." Joey nodded and led Yami to a lab room. It looked just like a doctor's office. Samara was washing her hands when they entered.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Sorry to wake you," Yami said.

"I've had earlier," she replied. Yami sat on the examination table with Yugi in his lap, Seigyoku sat in a chair, and Joey and Seto stood in the doorway. "Okay," Samara said as she dried her hands. "Let me see." She walked over to the table. Yugi turned away; Yami frowned sympathetically.

"Yugi," he said. "Just let her see. She won't do anything yet." Yugi looked up at him, then slowly turned around. Samara gently unwrapped the gauze and examined the cut.

"Where's…" she asked in disbelief.

"When I went get him, the stitches weren't there." Yami explained.

"It looks like they were just taken out before they're time." Samara said. "Yugi," she continued. "Who did this?" Yugi hesitated to answer. He looked at Seigyoku.

"It's okay," Yami said comfortingly.

"Mommy," Yugi answered. Samara turned to Seigyoku and looked at her wide-eyed.

Seigyoku glared at her. "He ain't mine!" she yelled in frustration.

"Oh," Samara said. "Sorry Sei,"

"Yugi," Yami said. "Mommy's dead…remember?" Yugi nodded. "She's not coming back." Yami continued to explain reluctantly.

"She is back," Yugi said. "And she's mad at you….and me." Everyone fell silent. Yami looked at Seto and Joey confusingly. They shrugged.

"Yugi," Yami said. "I need to talk to Joey and Seto for a minute." Yugi looked up at his father.

"No!" he said in a fearful voice. He hugged his father.

"It's okay," Yami said. "Samara's not gonna start without me." Yugi looked up at Yami, tears in his eyes. Yami smiled reassuringly. Yugi looked down. Yami kissed him on the cheek then took him off his lap. "I'll be right back." Yami said before walking out the door.

Yami shut the door behind him. "What the hell?" Joey whispered. Yami glared at him. "Sorry," he said. "But still!"

"You think he's making this up?" Seto asked.

Yami shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "He does read a lot, but he doesn't seem that creative." They all fell silent. Then Yami stated "Seigyoku thinks Anzu molested Yugi."

"What!" Seto and Joey said in unison. Yami told them everything, even what very little he remembered from his conversation.

"Maybe you didn't ask him right." Joey said.

"Well," Yami said, a little frustrated. "You ask him!" Joey said nothing.

"My psychiatrist works with children too." Seto said. Yami looked at him, unsure. "I swear," Seto said. "She won't make anything obvious." Yami still hesitated. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine," he looked down at the floor. Joey put a hand on Yami's shoulder.

"We'll be there for you." he said. They all smiled and went back inside.

Samara leaned against the wall as Yugi and Seigyoku stayed in their places. She looked at Yugi. His cut was pretty bad. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to stitch him again. She frowned at him sympathetically. She remembered the first time she had to stitch him. The poor thing was crying out of pain and fear for his father.

Yugi was sitting on the examination table. He wanted his dad to come back. He looked up slightly. Both Samara and Seigyoku seemed to be in deep thought. He sighed, hoping his dad would return.

Seigyoku just sat in her chair; partly daydreaming. Yami had never actually sat her down and explained to her about his wife. They'd been going out for five months and she didn't even know Yugi's mother's name. Then again, it probably wasn't even her business. She sighed softly, not knowing what to think.

The door opened and Yami walked in. Joey and Seto stayed in the doorway. Yami stopped to talk to Samara. "Are you?" he asked softly.

Samara shrugged. "It was bleeding last time, so I had to do it. But now it's optional."

Yami thought about it. "Which would be better?" he asked.

"Oh, he'll be fine both ways," she said. "But if I don't, it'll leave a visible scar and take longer to heal." Again Yami sighed. He walked over to Yugi and sat next to him.

"Listen Yugi," he said. Yugi's eyes widened slightly. "I know you don't want to do this, but it would heal faster." Yugi said nothing. His stomach turned and couldn't believe he would have to go through that type of pain again. Yami gave Yugi a firm hug; Yugi didn't respond. "It'll be okay," Yami whispered. Samara sighed and started to get the things she needed from the kit she bought. Yugi looked at the floor. He closed his eyes when he heard Samara walk over to him. He felt her rub some numbing cream on his forehead. Yugi squeezed his eyes shut and gasped when he felt the needle prick his skin. Tears slowly flee down his face as Samara continued.

After about five minutes, Samara said "Okay." Yami gave Yugi a hug. Samara put a bandage over Yugi's stitches and started to clean up her stuff.

"There you go!" Yami said as he got up. He smiled at Yugi. Yugi wiped his eyes and rested his head on Yami's chest.

"Who wants breakfast?" Joey asked from the door. Everyone smiled and headed for the kitchen. Seto and Joey had prepared every kind of breakfast.

"Wow," Seigyoku said. "I'm getting hungry just looking at it." Seto chuckled.

"Mr. Kaiba," Samara said. Seto looked at her. "I shall take my leave now." She headed for the door.

"Samara," Seto said, stopping her. "How about you stay?" he said, walking over to her. She blinked.

"Really?" she said. Seto smiled and nodded. "Thank you sir." she said.

"Please," he said. "Call me 'Seto'." Samara nodded. He led her to the kitchen and every sat down at the table. They ate breakfast mostly through conversation and laughter. Even Yugi was cheering up, but even through all the festivity, Yami still felt like the only one who could help Yugi cope his mother's parting….this is, if Anzu had departed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: Attack**

Yugi didn't go to school that day. Yami felt that Yugi should rest up. Seigyoku said that she'd go to work for both of them for that day. After she left, Yami thought about Seto's offer. He really had nothing to lose…but nothing to gain either, except an explanation…which, in turn, might be nothing but nonsense. He sighed and laid down on his bed, covering his face with his hands. Anzu was dead, and even though he wasn't psychotic enough to go and dig up her grave to prove it; he did have her funeral papers, somewhere in the void known as his file cabinet. He turned onto his stomach. He never really explained to Seigyoku anything about Anzu…not even on their first date. He didn't know why he didn't. He groaned. Maybe, while Seigyoku was gone he could pull out the old photo album and the funeral papers. Then, when she came back, they could have a nice talk about his dead wife. Yami sat up in the bed. _"What kind of hell-risen idea was that!"_ he asked himself mentally. Then again, if he did that, it would be possible for Seigyoku to understand Yugi's point of view. He got up and went downstairs and to the kitchen.

He went to the left side of the kitchen and opened the largest cabinet. Inside was a burgundy-colored photo album. He took it out and brushed the little dust off of it. He closed the cabinet and sat down at the table, flipping through it. Since he and Anzu had been high-school-sweethearts, there were lots of school pictures of them; then wedding pictures; then Yugi's pictures came up, along with some family photos. By each photo was a date and a small explanation of the photo. That had been Anzu's idea; so they wouldn't forget when they became old. That thought stabbed his heart. Now he'd grow old with Seigyoku. He blinked. Since Seigyoku was his new wife, maybe he should get a new photo album for the new family. Speaking of which, he remembered something he wanted to talk to Seigyoku about…but was it too early? Yami pushed that thought aside; that one could wait. He needed to think about Yugi's 'imagination' at the moment. He glanced at the clock. 10:00 am. Yugi would be awake by now. Maybe he could make Yugi understand what a psychiatrist was and convince him to go. He put the album away and went upstairs to Yugi's room.

Yami opened the door quietly incase Yugi was still sleeping. He poked his head in and saw Yugi sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. Yami smiled. "Morning son," he said. Yugi turned and gave a sleepy smile.

"Hi daddy," he said. Yami smiled and walked over to the bed. He kissed Yugi on the cheek before sitting down on the bed.

"How's your head feel?" he asked.

"Okay," Yugi replied. He yawned softly. Yami smiled.

"Good," Yami stated.

"Did Ms. Seigyoku go to work?" Yugi asked, rubbing his eyes again. Yami nodded.

"Yugi," Yami said. "Mr. Kaiba has a…friend that I would like you to talk to." Yugi blinked, so Yami continued. "This friend is a doctor." Yugi lost some of his color. "But different from Samara," Yami added quickly. "All she wants to do is talk to you."

"Talk?" Yugi asked confused. Yami nodded. "How is she gonna tell I'm sick if she just talks to me?"

"She doesn't tell you if you're sick, she tells you…" Yami hesitated, choosing his words. "How you're feeling."

"Huh?" Yugi asked bluntly with a blink.

Yami sighed. "Remember when Mommy first died and how sad I was?"

Yugi nodded. "You left me at Mr. Kaiba's for a long time so you could go on vacation."

"_Didn't know a 'vacation' meant shutting yourself out of the world for three months."_ Yami thought. "Yeah," he agreed. "When I came back, I went see this type of doctor so she could tell me how I could be less sad about Mommy going away. Understand?" Yugi nodded slowly. "I want you to talk to her."

"Why?" Yugi asked innocently.

"Because," Yami said. He didn't know how to explain it anymore. He sighed heavily.

Yugi blinked. "Would it make you happy if I went talk to the doctor?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," Yami blurted out.

"Okay," Yugi said. "I'll do it." Yami blinked at him.

"Really?" he asked. Yugi nodded. "Uh…thanks Yugi."

"Welcome daddy." Yugi hugged Yami. Yami smiled and hugged him. "What's for breakfast?" Yugi asked, looking up.

Yami shrugged. "Whatever you want." He smiled. Yugi nodded and started to crawl out of the bed. Yami watched him, then left the room so Yugi could dress. He waited for Yugi downstairs.

When Yugi did come downstairs, he fixed himself a bowl of cereal and talked with dad as he ate. As soon as Yami got a chance, he went up to his bedroom and called Seto, asking him to make him an appointment. Seto agreed and said he would e-mail Yami the time and date. Yami thanked him and hung up. He smiled to himself.

Seigyoku came home at around six. "What up!" she yelled as she walked in. Yugi giggled as Yami stared at her. "What?" she asked when she noticed Yami's stare.

"Could you be any louder?" he asked her. Seigyoku nodded with a smile. Yugi laughed at that. "Don't encourage him." Yami told her.

"Kay." She replied. "Where's my little Ki-Cat?" she asked.

"What's a 'Ki-Cat'?" Yami asked.

"It's short for 'kitty cat'." Seigyoku explained. "Now where is he?"

"Six feet under, in the backyard." Yami said in a normal tone as he walked back in the kitchen. Seigyoku's jaw dropped and she turned pale. Yami looked back at her; trying not to smile. When he saw the look on her face, and the tears in her eyes, he panicked. "I'm joking!" he said quickly. Seigyoku sniffled.

"Really?" she asked. Yami nodded quickly. She smiled, making him sigh in relief. He turned to go back into the kitchen and felt something hard ram into the back of his head.

"Ow!" he said as he whirled around. He saw Seigyoku's purse on the floor. He looked up at her. Now she was giving him a deathly glare.

"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" she shouted. Yami and Yugi stared at her wide-eyed. "GOT IT!" They both slowly nodded. "Now," she said happily. "Where is Kiwi?" Both boys shrugged. "He's probably upstairs." Seigyoku headed upstairs.

Once she was out of hearing range, Yugi said "She's crazy." Yami slowly nodded in agreement. Seigyoku came back downstairs a few minutes later, the tabby following her.

"He was under Yugi's bed," she said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Work was good?" Yami asked.

"Normal," Seigyoku said as she sat down. She looked down to pet Kiwi, but saw he had taken comfort on the couch. "He'll come when he's hungry." she said to no one in particular.

"How come daddy won't give Kiwi some of our food?" Yugi asked.

"Cause he has his own." Yami said.

"But Ms. Seigyoku gives him a lot." Yugi stated. Yami turned and gave Seigyoku a stern look. She laughed guiltily.

"I can't help it!" she said. "I wuv Kiwi!" She smiled at Yami. Yugi giggled. Yami sighed and shook his head.

"Just don't do it often." Yami said.

"I don't!" Seigyoku said defensively. Yami gave her another stern look. Seigyoku stuck her tongue out when Yami turned back around. Yugi forced himself not to laugh.

When supper was ready, they all sat down. "Kiwi!" Seigyoku called as she put his food bowl down next to her chair. Kiwi started to walk over to the bowl, but he stopped when he reached the entrance of the kitchen. "Kiwi?" Seigyoku said, looking at her cat curiously.

"He'll come eventually." Yami said. Seigyoku gave Kiwi one last look before she started to eat. Once dinner was over, Yami put the dishes in the sink and began to wash them.

"He still hasn't eaten," Seigyoku said in a worried voice. Yami rolled his eyes. "C'mere Kiwi." Seigyoku called as she kneeled down near the food bowl. The cat merely looked at her. "C'mon and eat." She gave the food bowl a small push toward the cat, a few steps in front of him. The cat still refused to step inside the kitchen. Seigyoku sighed.

"Can I try?" Yugi asked.

"Go ahead," she said. "I bet he's starving." Yugi nodded and picked up the food bowl.

"Here Kiwi," Yugi said as he walked over to the cat. Kiwi watched his every move. Yugi placed the food bowl in front of the cat. Kiwi let out a loud hiss. Yugi blinked. "Kiwi?" he asked leaning forward. The cat let out another hiss, then pounced on Yugi biting him in the shoulder. Yugi let out a cry of pain.

"Yugi!" Yami cried worriedly as he turned around. Yugi pushed the cat off and turned to his father. Kiwi landed on his feet and started to attack Yugi again, but Yami threw a knife at him, grazing his left hind leg. Kiwi let out a howl of pain and ran off. Yami quickly picked up Yugi.

"Kiwi!" Seigyoku called after her cat. She chased him. Yami held Yugi close, trying to calm him down.

"It's okay," Yami whispered to him. Yugi held onto his father's shirt. When Yugi stopped crying, Yami gently pulled Yugi's shirt off and saw the two small puncture wounds Kiwi's teeth had left. Yami glared at the injury.

"Uh, Yami?" he heard. Looking up, he saw Seigyoku in the kitchen doorway with Kiwi, who was purring loudly, in her arms. Yami glared at the cat.

"He just bit Yugi and you're comforting him?" Yami asked.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Seigyoku said. "And I punished him for it too." She nodded.

"Put him outside," Yami said as he put Yugi's shirt back on.

"Why?" Seigyoku said. "He's an inside cat."

"Because," Yami said. "I have a rifle in the closet."

"NO!" Seigyoku shouted in protest. She held her cat closer. "He won't do it again!" She reassured. Yami glared at her. "And…uh…also he's grounded!" Yami glare stayed. "Yep," Seigyoku continued. "I'm gonna go put him in his room." She headed for the stairs.

"We agreed that if he ever hurt Yugi, he'd have to leave!" Yami shouted as she turned away.

"But…" Seigyoku started. "Maybe it wasn't his fault…"

"So you're blaming Yugi?" Yami asked. Yugi seemed hurt by that question. He looked down sadly at the floor.

"No!" Seigyoku said quickly. She hesitated for another answer. Looking up at Yami, she saw the same intense glare. "Just one more chance Yami," she asked. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Please." she begged. "Kiwi's never done that to anyone before." Yami didn't answer right away. He looked at the cat; Kiwi let out a gentle meow. Sighing, Yami agreed. "Thank you!" Seigyoku said happily. She gave Yami a quick kiss; too quick from his point of view. He blinked as she walked up the stairs. Recovering from the kiss, he picked Yugi up and smiled at him.

"You're okay right?" Yami asked in a playful tone. Yugi smiled weakly and nodded. Yami hugged him. "Okay then," he said. "How about a bath?" Yugi smiled and nodded. Yami smiled as well and went upstairs with Yugi. They played around while Yugi took a bath and once Yugi was dressed, Yami started to tickle him.

"Stop!" Yugi finally called as he ran from his dad on got on the bed. Yami smiled at him and ran after him. Yugi giggled and laid down on right side of the bed. Yami sighed happily and threw himself on the left side of the bed. "Do you think the other kids will laugh at me?" Yugi asked, cuddling up to his father.

"Why?" Yami asked, putting his arm around Yugi. "Because of your stitches?" Yugi nodded. Yami smiled. "I doubt it," he reassured. "Back when I was in school, the kids thought that stuff was cool."

"Really?" Yugi asked. Yami nodded. "Did you ever hurt yourself like this dad?"

Yami sighed. "No," he answered. "I was always kept up in my room, studying. Remember? I told you that before."

"Oh yeah," Yugi said. He fell silent, trying to imagine what that was like. "Why did Grandpa do that to you?"

"I was never really sure." Yami explained with a sigh. "But I'm sure that they were of the best intentions." He smiled at Yugi.

"How do you know?" Yugi asked, sitting up.

"That's just it," Yami said, sitting up with him. "I don't." He pulled Yugi into his lap. "But now that I'm a parent myself, I know that everything I do is for your benefit." He smiled and looked down at Yugi gently. Yugi looked up at his father. "I would never do anything that would hurt you in the long run Yugi." Yami said. "No matter what I do, whatever decisions I make; you will be the first thing I debate in my mind. I'll always make sure that everything helps you more then it helps me." Yami pulled Yugi closer. "I want you to remember that; forever because when you, yourself become a father you'll realize that nothing is more important then the children you have…." He kissed Yugi gently on the forehead. Yugi cuddled closer, into his father's chest. The two Moutos sat there, enjoying their time together.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: Unwanted Truth**

Yami got out of Seigyoku's car and sighed. Seigyoku glared at him. "How many times do I have to say 'Get over it!'?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Yami said. "It's just so small." He picked up Yugi. They had stopped at a large, brick building. There were many floors and lots of stained-glass windows. Each window was about twice its size away from the next and some had bars on them. Yugi stared at the building in wonder. "Yugi," Yami said, bringing him back to reality. Yugi looked up at him. "You okay?" Yami asked. Yugi nodded. "You don't have to be nervous." Yami stated with a smile. Yugi said nothing. They headed inside. The inside was bigger than the outside led it to be. It was very busy too. Yami and Seigyoku walked over to the large desk and talked with the lady behind it. She looked on the computer and gave them a floor and room number. They thanked her and headed for the elevator. Once they reached to elevator, Yugi looked at his dad.

"Hey dad," he said.

"Hm?" Yami answered.

"Mr. Kaiba and Joey are gonna be here, right?" Yugi asked. Yami smiled and nodded.

"They promised Yugi," Yami said. "I'm sure they won't break it." The elevator arrived and they stepped inside. Seigyoku pushed the button for the fourth floor. Once arriving they stepped out and headed from room eighty-two down the hall. Outside the room stood Seto and Joey. They smiled when they saw Yami.

"Hey you!" Joey said, taking Yugi from Yami's hold and giving him a hug. "How ya been?"

"Good." Yugi said, hugging Joey's neck.

"School was okay?" Seto asked, slightly ruffling Yugi's hair. Yugi nodded.

"She here?" Yami asked Seto.

"Yeah," he answered. "She's finishing up with someone." Yami nodded. They waited for about five minutes; then the door opened. A woman walked out. She was tall and about, maybe five pounds over her weight. She had straight brown hair tied back in a bun and her makeup seemed to hide all signs of aging. Her navy blue business suit gave her the look of intelligence. She smiled when she saw Yugi.

"You must be Yugi." she said. Yugi nodded slowly. She smiled. "Hi," she greeted. "I'm Dr. Ari. Why don't you come with me?" she asked, motioning towards the office.

Joey put Yugi down. "It's okay," he whispered comfortingly to Yugi.

"Go on, Yugi." Yami said. Yugi looked back at his father, then slowly walked into the room. Dr. Ari closed the door behind him, then faced the group of adults.

"It's been a while since I had a child in my office." she said to Seto.

"I'm aware of that." Seto countered. "You are one of the best—."

"Indeed I am," she said. "What's wrong with this one again?"

"We think he has an imaginary friend of his dead mother," Seto said.

"I see," Dr. Ari hesitated, thinking. "I'll see what I can do. Come with me." She led them to the room next to her office. It was a small room; more like a waiting room. There was a reverse mirror on one side of the room that revealed her office, where Yugi was waiting in one of the chairs. "If you wish to watch, just stay in here." Yami nodded and thanked her. She left and headed for her office.

"She's sort of a bitch, eh Seto," Joey asked. Seto glared at him.

"Children are difficult to analyze." Seto explained. "She just doesn't want to be bothered with useless work."

"Who are you calling 'useless'!" Yami shouted, glaring at Seto.

"I…I wasn't talking about Yugi," Seto said gently. "I was just…just stating her opinion."

"If you would have told me she hated children I would have gotten someone else!" Yami said, turning away from Seto, looking through the reverse mirror. Seto fell silent, thinking it wasn't his place to speak.

Yugi looked up as the office door opened. Dr. Ari smiled as she walked in. Yugi sat up straighter in his chair as she sat down across from him. "Yugi was it?" she asked. He nodded. She smiled gently. "So is there some trouble at home?" Yugi shook his head. "You can tell me anything Yugi." She said. "Your daddy can't do anything." Yugi swallowed and shook his head again.

"_He's scared…"_ Dr. Ari thought. "Okay," she continued. "Do you wanna talk about Mommy?" she asked gently. Yugi looked up. _"Got his attention,"_ she thought with a smile. "Do you miss Mommy?" Yugi nodded slowly. "Does daddy miss Mommy?" she asked. Yugi shook his head.

"He has Ms. Seigyoku now," he said nervously.

"I see," Dr. Ari said. "Do you like Ms. Seigyoku?"

Yugi started to shake his head, but hesitated. Then he said "She makes Mommy mad."

"But I thought Mommy died." Dr. Ari asked.

"She did," Yugi said. "But she came back."

"Really," Dr. Ari asked. "How?"

Yugi shrugged. "She just did." Dr. Ari nodded.

"When she was alive," she asked. "Were you two close?"

"Sorta," Yugi said. "We were alone when daddy went to work."

"I see," Dr. Ari said.

Yami didn't turn to look at Seto. "Did you tell her what I thought over the phone?"

"Yeah," Seto said. "Both you and Seigyoku." Yami nodded.

"What would you two do together?" she asked.

"Play the Game." Yugi said. He looked at the floor.

"It's okay," Dr. Ari said comfortingly. "What would you two do during the game?"

Yami's heart started to race…breathing became somewhat difficult.

"Just hug and kiss." Yugi said.

"How?" she asked quickly. Yugi shrugged. "Yugi," she said, making him look at her. "Its okay, no matter what you say you're not gonna get in trouble."

"I'm not?" he asked nervously. Dr. Ari shook her head.

"You can tell me anything." She smiled gently. Yugi smiled back. "Now, how did Mommy play the game?"

"She would take off my clothes first." Yugi explained. Dr. Ari's eyes widened slightly.

"Then?" she asked, afraid to know.

"She would just hug and kiss me." Yugi said with a shrug.

"Did Mommy ever take her clothes off?" Dr. Ari asked.

"Sometimes," Yugi said. "But not often."

"I see," she sighed. "Yugi, I'll be right back; okay?" Yugi nodded. Dr. Ari smiled and headed for the door. She closed the door as she left.

Yami, who had fallen to his knees, looked up from the floor. Joey and Seto backed away. Seigyoku quickly wiped her eyes; they all faced Dr. Ari. "Mr. Mouto," she said. "I would like your permission to put Yugi under hypnosis." Yami said nothing. "He's too young to understand what damage could have been done. When he's in this state, he'll be able to give us more detail and from there then we'll see if he needs to continue my psychiatric care." Yami hesitated.

"Go ahead," he said. Dr. Ari nodded and headed back for her office. Joey and Seto helped Yami to his feet.

"You want some water, buddy?" Joey asked. Yami shook his head. They all looked back; watching.

Yugi smiled as Dr. Ari reentered. She took her chair and said, "Okay now." She looked at Yugi. "Yugi you ever seen the cartoons where they hypnotize someone?" Yugi nodded. "Well, I was wondering if you would let me do that to you." Yugi blinked.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because," Dr. Ari said. "I'm…uh…suppose to do that to everyone on their first visit." Yugi hesitated. "I did it to Mr. Kaiba before." Yugi looked up, interested.

"Really?" he asked. Dr. Ari nodded. "What did he do?" Yugi asked. Dr. Ari chuckled.

"I can't tell you that," she explained. "It's against the law."

"So you can't tell anyone what I say or do?" Yugi asked.

"Nope," she reassured. Yugi thought about it.

"Okay," he said.

"Thank you," Dr. Ari said. She walked over to her desk and pulled out a what looked like a small clock. She placed it on her desk, facing it towards Yugi. "All I want you to do is relax," she said. She turned it on. A small, dark blue light came on along with the sound of a gentle tick. Yugi sat back in his chair. He started to feel sleepy. Dr. Ari counted back from three. As soon as Yugi feel under hypnosis, she watched him carefully.

"_Yugi, Yugi," a feminine voice said. Yugi yawned as he opened his eyes._

"_Mommy!" he asked in surprise. Anzu giggled. _

"_Oh course," she said. "Who else?" _

"_I thought…" Yugi trailed off with a confused look. Anzu smiled sympathetically._

"_Oh, my baby." She said, picking him up. "You must have had a bad dream. It's okay; Mommy's here." She gave him a gentle hug Yugi smiled as she cuddled him. "I know what will cheer you up." She purred into his ear. With Yugi in her arms, Anzu got up from the couch and headed upstairs to Yugi's room. Once inside, she shut the door and locked it. "Ready to play?" she asked. Yugi nodded slowly. "Good boy," she said. Anzu kissed him gently on the forehead, then the tip of nose, and finally his lips. While doing this she took off both of Yugi's shoes and socks. Yugi giggled as she gave him butterfly kisses on his neck. Anzu smiled at him. "Does that tickle you?" she asked._

"_Yeah," Yugi said with a giggle. Anzu smiled. She laid him down on his bed. Yugi started to sit up._

"_No-no," Anzu said, gently pushing him back down. "You have to lay down."_

"_Kay," Yugi said, listening to her. Anzu slipped her hand under Yugi's t-shirt. She gently glided her hand across his chest and stomach. Yugi giggled again. Anzu smiled._

"_My sweet Yugi," she said softly. She took Yugi's shirt off and pulled him close to her. Yugi smiled and hugged her. "You're such a good boy," she whispered to him. She unbuttoned his jeans and slipped her hand inside, groping him. Yugi shifted._

"_Mommy," he said, uncomfortable._

"_Shh," she said, silencing him. Yugi fell silent. Anzu then took off his pants and put him back down on the bed. "You have to be good okay? You don't me to get rough do you?" Yugi shook his head. "Good boy," she answered. She started to massage his shoulders, chest, and stomach. Soon, she took off Yugi's underwear and went deeper into The Game…_

Dr. Ari watched as Yugi slept; at times he would shift, like he was uncomfortable. After few minutes, she began her questions. "Yugi," she said gently. "How old are you?"

"Three," the toddler answered in somewhat of a tired moan. "I think…"

"Where are you?" Dr. Ari asked slowly.

"In my room…" Yugi answered. "In my bed…" Dr. Ari frowned sympathetically.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"We're playing…" Yugi said. Dr. Ari asked more questions about the actions of The Game, questions she wished she didn't have to ask.

After she asked everything, she said "Okay Yugi now…"

"Don't!" Yugi said, as if he was in pain.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"I'll be good!" Yugi said, curling into a ball.

"Yugi," Dr. Ari said more calmly. "What's Mommy doing?"

"Mommy's back…" Yugi said.

"From the dead?" Dr. Ari asked, confused.

"Yeah," Yugi answered. "She's punishing me and Daddy."

"Why?" She was now on the edge of her seat.

"Because," Yugi said. "We're forgetting about her; we're not sad anymore."

"Where is she?" Dr. Ari asked.

"At home…" Yugi said. "She stays in my room."

"How does she—?" Dr. Ari began to ask, but Yugi let out a scream of pain.

Yami stood there; stunned. It was true…Anzu had been molesting Yugi while he had gone to work. Why…? That's the only question that came to his mind. Had he been ignoring her sexually? Or was she just sick in that twisted way? So many questions…he couldn't take it anymore! He ran out the door.

"Yami!" Joey, Seto, and Seigyoku called after him.

"Enough!" Yami shouted as he burst through the door of Dr. Ari's office. He ran over to Yugi and hugged him. "Its okay son, I'm here now!" Dr. Ari awoke Yugi from his state and stepped back. Yugi awoke and looked at his dad confusingly.

"Daddy?" he asked. At first, Yugi was confused but then he remembered what he saw in his hypnosis dream. He hugged his dad.

"Its okay son…" Yami said again. Tears streamed down his face. Seto, Joey, and Seigyoku stayed in the doorway. Seigyoku wanted to comfort Yami, but thought she would be out of place.

Once everything had calmed down, Yami talked with Dr. Ari. She said that if he felt Yugi should come back, she'd gladly take him. Yami thanked her, but inside he doubted Yugi needed this kind of help. The ride home was quiet. Seto and Joey said they'd be around if Yami need a babysitter or just a night of fun. Yami smiled and thanked them. Once Yami, Yugi, and Seigyoku arrived home, Yami put Yugi in his own bedroom and told him to take nap. Yugi did as he was told and Yami tucked him in. Once Yugi was asleep, Yami went to Yugi's room and tore the sheets off his bed and took all the other sheets from Yugi's closet. He took the four folded piles downstairs, and torched each one in the fireplace. He sat down, watching them burn. Seigyoku said nothing as she saw this and cooked lunch. She sighed…and started to wonder if she could be any help at all….


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: Possession**

Yami slipped into somewhat of a depression. He was still able to go through day to day activities, like work and other responsibilities, but his mood was different. Seigyoku thought about it during work as she was signing forms that she really didn't understand. She could only hope this would cheer Yami up.

When work was over, she told Yami she needed to go shopping on the drive home. She dropped him off and drove off. Yami waved as she left and headed inside. Unfortunately, Yami wasn't the only one who slipped into a depression. However, unlike Yami, Yugi wasn't hiding his feelings. For the past week, Yugi would sometimes just break down and cry. He had done that at school three days in a row and the principal suggested he take the rest of the week off. Yami gladly accepted the offer. Now Yugi was in his room and Yami decided that they could order pizza tonight. Yami threw himself on the sofa. He closed his eyes as if trying to force himself to sleep. Kiwi's meow made Yami look up. Kiwi purred as he jumped on the sofa with Yami. "I'm still mad at you," Yami said. Kiwi meow again. The cut on his left hind leg had left a scar and Yami was proud of that. Ignoring Kiwi, Yami closed his eyes again.

He had the chance to 'sleep' for about a half hour when, "Oh Yami!" a cheery voice called. He opened his eyes and sat up. Seigyoku smiled as she handed Yami an amethyst photo album. Yami took it and looked at it. Before he could ask, Seigyoku held up a brand new digital camera.

"I have a camera." Yami said.

"I know," Seigyoku said. "But this one gets rid of that 'red-eye-thing' and glares too!" Yami just looked at her. "Besides, I thought it would cheer Yugi up! You know, have a photo-frenzy!" Yami sighed and smiled at her. He knew Seigyoku was trying.

"Try your luck," Yami said. Seigyoku smiled widely.

"I will!" She said as she rushed upstairs. She calmed herself down and knocked on Yugi's door.

"Yeah?" was Yugi's answer. She went inside.

"Hey Yugi!" She greeted. Yugi turned from his desk and looked at her. He had been coloring in a coloring book just to pass the time. "Look what I got!" she said excitedly. She held the camera up. Yugi blinked.

"It a digital camera…about $300." he said. Seigyoku blinked at him.

"Yeah, I know. I just bought it…You wanna take some pictures?" she asked smiling.

"Whatever floats your boat," Yugi said with a sigh. He went back to his coloring book.

Seigyoku made a face. _"Fine,"_ she thought. _"I'll force you to be happy."_ She snuck over to Yugi's desk, got on the side of him, at a good angle and took a picture. Yugi blinked when he saw a flash and the camera's noise. He turned and looked at Seigyoku, who was smiling. Yugi said or did nothing. Seigyoku made a dull face again. "Smile, damn it!" She said in a stern, yet joking tone. This made Yugi laugh and Seigyoku took a quick picture of Yugi's cute face. He smiled at her. The door opened and they both looked, expecting Yami to enter….but it was Kiwi.

"Kiwi!" Yugi said excitedly.

"You wanna take some pictures with him?" Seigyoku asked. Yugi nodded. He got up from his desk and crawled onto his bed. Kiwi jumped on the bed when he saw Yugi. He walked over to the toddler and laid down in front of him, expecting Yugi to pet him. "Smile!" Seigyoku said and took the picture.

Yami wondered if Seigyoku was having any luck with Yugi. She had been up there for ten whole minutes. He decided to go check on them. As he got closer to Yugi's room, he heard giggling and laugher. He opened the door and poked his head in. Seigyoku noticed him and blurted out "We're not doing anything, I swear!" Yugi laughed as Yami gave her a weird look with a smile. "Keep making that face and I'll take a picture of it!" She 'warned'. Yami had to smile at that. He walked over to Seigyoku and hugged her. Yugi grabbed the camera and called their attention. They got closer together and smiled, ready for the picture. Right before Yugi could press the button; Seigyoku grabbed the collar of Yami's shirt and pulled him into a force kiss. Her looked was calm and relaxed, while Yami had that 'What-The-Hell' look. The camera flashed and captured the image. Yugi giggled.

"Seigyoku!" Yami said as he pulled away. Seigyoku smiled widely.

"What!" she asked smiling. "You act like Yugi never seen a kiss before!"

"Take a picture of me and daddy!" Yugi said excitedly.

"Yugi," Yami said, giving him a look.

"May you take a picture of daddy and I Ms. Seigyoku?" Yugi corrected himself.

"Don't hurt yourself, I'll do it!" she said. Yugi handed the camera to Seigyoku and Yami sat beside him on the bed. He put Yugi in his arms and held him up to his own level. Seigyoku readied the camera and they smiled. Seigyoku took the picture and put the camera down. She looked at it. "I got one picture left on this thing." She said.

"You just bought it an hour ago!" Yami said standing up.

"It's not my fault Yugi's so damn adorable!" Seigyoku said.

(A/N: How many of you agree with that! )

Yami smiled at her. She smiled back. It was then Yami remembered something. He turned to Yugi.

"Yugi," he said. "Stand up against the wall." Yugi blinked, but got up and stood with his back against the wall in corner.

"What are you doing?" Seigyoku asked. Yami went to Yugi's desk and got a ruler and a pencil.

"Stand still," Yami told Yugi. Yugi did so and Yami began to measure Yugi's height, marking each foot as he went up.

"How tall is he?" Seigyoku asked when Yami was done.

"Three feet." Yami answered.

(A/N: That's how tall I was when I was 5…I WAS SHORT!)

"Only five inches shorter than normal," Seigyoku said. Yami went back to Yugi's desk, put the ruler and pencil away, and took out a washable black marker. On the wall next to Yugi he wrote "3 FT." Yami picked up the camera and kneeled down in front of Yugi. He smiled widely as he dad took the final picture.

Seigyoku wasted no time getting the photo developed. She went to the store and did that right after supper. The next day Yami and Seigyoku bought them to work to show Seto and Joey. They were in Seto's office, drinking coffee as Joey leaned over Seto's shoulder.

"Fifty photos in one night…obsessive family." Joey stated. Seto chuckled. Yami gave a false laugh.

"What's with the cat?" Seto asked.

"I wuv my Kiwi!" Seigyoku said with a smile. That made Joey and Seto look up and stare at her. She looked left and right awkwardly.

"She's obsessed with the little demon." Yami stated, pouring himself some more coffee. Seigyoku glared at him.

"Jealous cause she cares about the cat just as much as you?" Joey asked with a sarcastic smile.

"Kiss my ass!" Yami said glaring at him. Seto and Joey laughed at that. Seigyoku smiled at Yami.

"I wuv you too!" she said.

"You'd better," Yami said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"And if I don't?" Seigyoku asked putting her hands on her hips.

"Get out of my house," Yami stated.

"Yeah, I love you." Seigyoku said.

"She loves you for the bathroom." Seto said.

"Our conversation!" Seigyoku said glaring at him. "Not yours!"

"Whoa," Joey said in a concerned tone, taking a picture from Seto. "What's this?"

"What?" Yami asked walking over to Joey. Seigyoku followed. Joey handed them the picture. It was the one where Seigyoku pulled Yami into a surprise kiss, but around them was a dark red light that followed their figures. Yami and Seigyoku were just as confused.

"Maybe some light got into it," Seto suggested.

"The camera cancels out glares," Seigyoku said. Yami handed Seto the photo and they continued to flip through them. So far that was the only picture with a strange sight on it. As Seto got to the last picture he took a sip of his coffee, but when looked at it his eyes widened and he choked on his swallow.

"Seto!" Joey said whirling around from the window looking at him. Seto handed Joey the photo, still coughing. Joey's eyes widened as he stared at the picture.

"What?" Yami asked worriedly. Joey slowly handed the photo to Yami. Seigyoku looked over Yami's shoulder to see. She gasped when she saw the image. It was the picture Yami had taken when wrote down Yugi's height only there was someone else in the photo…Anzu was leaning over Yugi, her ghostly arms around Yugi's shoulders and she was staring back at Yami with an angered glare she had given him many times when they were married. They could almost see right through Anzu. She was still that ghostly figure yet a whole figure at the same time.

"What the hell is that…?" Seto asked slowly.

"A…ghost…" Seigyoku said. Everyone was awe struck.

"Yugi was telling the truth," Joey said. "With Ari and all." Yami remembered what Yugi had said during his session. He couldn't believe it…he wouldn't believe it…this wasn't real…there was no way this was real…

"There's no way this is possible…" Yami said.

"Yami!" Joey said. "She's in the fucking picture! What more do you want!" Yami said nothing.

"Call Samara," Seigyoku said.

Seto blinked. "Why?" he asked.

"Samara reads a lot," Seigyoku said. "And she loves this kind of stuff. She told me once, back in high school that she would love to walk through a haunted house."

"Our house isn't haunted!" Yami said. "This is a mistake…this isn't real!" Seigyoku frowned at Yami sympathetically. His eyes were glued to the photo.

"Well," Seigyoku started. "If the house isn't haunted then Samara could just come to visit." She said.

"Couldn't hurt…" Joey said. Yami looked at Seto.

"I know you don't believe this." He said. Seto looked away.

"Uh…I…well Yugi said…and the photo…the evidence is piling…" he chuckled. Yami sighed.

"Well," he said. "If Seto Kaiba believes this is real, then I have to give it some possibility."

The next day, as Yami was cooking, Yugi was reading in the kitchen. "Daddy," he said.

"Hm?" Yami asked.

"Why is Samara coming over?" Yugi asked.

"It's 'Ms. Samara' Yugi;" Yami said. "And she's coming over for supper, just like Mr. Kaiba and Joey do every now and then."

"Are they coming too?" Yugi asked with hope in his voice.

"I'm sure Kaiba's coming over." Seigyoku said as she walked into the kitchen.

"What does Kaiba have to do with Samara?" Yami asked, turning to look at Seigyoku.

She looked at him strangely. "He didn't tell you?"

"No," Yami said.

"Oh my God!" Seigyoku said. "You're really not as close as you think!"

"What are you talking about?" Yami finally asked.

"Dude," Seigyoku started. "Kaiba and Samara have been going out since Yugi got his stitches!" Yami's jaw dropped slightly. "Does this surprise you?" Seigyoku asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah!" Yami said. "Kaiba was the one bragging about how work-relationships hurt the business!" Seigyoku giggled.

"My friends trust me! Ha!" she taunted. Yami playfully glared at her.

"Keep telling yourself that." he muttered. Seigyoku glared at him and was about to say something, but the doorbell rang. She answered it and smiled at Samara and Kaiba.

"Hey guys," She greeted as she let them in. Both of them were wearing navy business suits. Yami smiled at them.

"You guys just getting off of work or what?" Yami asked jokingly.

"No," Seto said. "We love you guys so much we decided to dress up!" Samara giggled. She smiled at Yugi.

"Hi," he greeted as she leaned on the table a seat away from him. He nervously glanced at her and forced himself to focus on his coloring.

"Yugi," Yami said sternly.

"Hi," Yugi greeted just above a whisper. Yami frowned at Yugi, but Seto held up his hand, letting Yami know it was okay.

"So," Samara said, quickly bringing the mood back. "What did Sei cook?" Yami laughed.

"Seigyoku?" Yami said with a chuckle. "Cook? You're funny Samara." He turned off the stove.

"Don't make me go over there and hurt you!" Seigyoku threatened.

"Try me." Yami said, raising an eyebrow.

"My money's on Sei." Samara said, smiling at Seto. He laughed. Yami glared at them both.

"Such loyalty." Yami said. "I'm definitely appreciated."

"Don't overwhelm yourself." Seto said. He helped Yami set the table. Once the table was set, the food was put out and they all sat down and ate. As they were eating, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Yami said, getting up. He answered it.

"What up!" Joey shouted in a greeting.

"Uh…" Yami said. "We're eating."

"We're that late?" Joey asked.

"We?" Yami asked, letting Joey in. A woman followed him inside. She was about his age, up to three years apart. She had long pink hair that drew out her lavender eyes.

"What up!" She greeted. Yami blinked.

"Yami Mouto," he said, holding his hand out. She shook it. Samara looked up and saw the woman with Joey. She stared at her, then spit out her wine she was drinking and choked. Seigyoku stared at her.

"What?" she asked concerned. Samara, still coughing, pointing to the woman. Seigyoku gasped when she saw her. "Komoura?"

"Huh?" the woman stated turning around. Seigyoku and Samara ran to her.

"It's us!" Samara said.

"Who?" Komoura asked, staring at them confused.

"Seigyoku and Samara, you dolt!" Seigyoku shouted. Komoura screamed and hugged both her friends. Yami, Seto, and Joey stared at them.

"Will you stop running into your high-school friends!" Yami said, walking back into the kitchen.

"Make me," Seigyoku said. They all went into the kitchen. Komoura noticed Yugi and smiled at Seigyoku.

"Whoa Sei," she said. "How old is this cute one?"

"Seigyoku isn't my mother!" Yugi said, glaring at Komoura.

"Okay…" Komoura said, sitting next to Joey. "My bad…" Yami glared at Yugi from the corner of his eye. He was definitely going to have a talk with him later. As Komoura was introduced to Yami and Seto more deeply, caught up her friends with her life.

"Great to hear that you've been okay," Samara said.

"Yeah," Seigyoku said. "I'm glad nothing has gone wrong with any of us."

"I agree," Komoura said. "I always knew you two would marry rich guys."

"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!" Samara and Seigyoku shouted in unison.

"Well my bad!" Komoura said. Joey chuckled.

"Got something you wish to add?" Seto asked, glaring at Joey.

"Nope," Joey said. "Just enjoying the conversation." Komoura hit him on the back of the head. "Ow!" he said. "What was that for?"

"For making fun of us!" she said. Yami smiled at Komoura, they're latest addition to their 'Family-of-Friends'.

Once the dinner was over, Joey and Seto helped Yami clean up. The girls helped too, but they also held a conversation about what the others had missed. As soon as the kitchen was done, Yami sent Yugi to his own bedroom and turned to Samara and said "I have a favor to ask."

"Does your arm hurt?" she asked, concerned.

"No, not that." Yami said. He sighed. "Seigyoku said your good with…uh…ghosts."

"I read about them," Samara said, shrugging. "But I'm not a hunter or anything like that." Yami rubbed the back of his neck.

"Could you tell if one was in the house?" he asked, somewhat embarrassed.

"Maybe," Samara asked unsure of herself. "Why?"

"This," Seigyoku said as she handed Samara the picture.

"Oh my God!" Samara blurted out when she saw Anzu's ghost over Yugi.

"Son of a bitch!" Komoura said quickly when she saw the photo.

"Yeah," Joey said. "She's in Yugi's room." He motioned his head in the direction of the stairs.

"Yami wants you to go check." Seto explained.

"I'll try," Samara said handing Yami back the photo. Yami led Samara upstairs and to Yugi's room. They stood in the doorway as Samara stepped inside. "It's cold in here," Samara said rubbing her arms.

"Yugi never complained." Yami said.

"She hasn't hurt anyone, has she?" Samara asked nervously as she walked around the room.

"Hurt?" Yami asked.

"Yeah," Samara explained. "Like threw something, or scratched someone?" Yami shook his head.

"Not that I can remember." he stated.

"She could have torn Yugi's stitches." Seigyoku suggested.

Samara stared at her wide-eyed. "What a loving mother." She said sarcastically. As she walked around the bed, she saw the jewelry box on Yugi's nightstand. "What's this?" she asked walking over to it. She picked up the cover gently and looked at all the shining jewelry.

"That's Anzu's jewelry." Yami said with a frown. "I thought I had saved that with the rest of her stuff."

"Guess Yugi wanted to keep it…" Joey said, trying to comfort his best friend. Samara walked around the room until she got to the corner where Yami had taken the final photo.

"This is the corner right?" Samara asked.

"Yeah," Yami said. Samara leaned against the wall, just like Yugi had done in the picture. After a few seconds of just standing there, she shrugged.

"Nothing eerie except the cold temperature." she said. Yami chuckled.

"Now I feel stupid." He said.

"Why?" Seigyoku said. "I'm the one who suggested it." Samara giggled.

"Don't feel bad guys," she said. "A lot of people think their houses are haunted. But only a small percentage actually is."

"There's only one other solution." Seto said, looking at Yami.

"That Yugi was making all this up for the attention?" Yami said, with a false smile. His friends were silent. Yami sighed. "Okay, this will be a fun talk." Joey put his hand on Yami's shoulder.

"Its okay buddy," he said comfortingly. As Seto and Joey tried to comfort Yami, Samara walked over to the jewelry box again. Something drew her to it; an ominous aura. She opened it and pulled out a ring. This one seemed different from all the other pieces of jewelry. Instead of just diamonds and sapphires, this one has three different stones in it. All were a different color.

"_Put it on…and help me get back what's mine…"_ A voice told Samara. Without a second thought, Samara slipped the ring on her finger.

"Samara?" Seto said in a concerned voice. Everyone looked at her. "You okay?" She didn't answer. Once the ring was on her finger, she gasped. The room then filled up with a strong wind, blowing everything from its place. "Samara!" Seto shouted. The wind pushed them out of Yugi's room and the door slammed shut. "Samara!" Seto shouted again. He got up and pulled at the door knob. The door was locked. He banged on the door with his fist, calling to Samara.

"What just happened?" Joey asked rising to his knees.

"She's….she's…." Yami stuttered, trying to find the answer in his brain.

"Possessed?" Komoura asked, looking at Seigyoku as if she knew the answer. Seigyoku shrugged. They all sat there wondering what had happened and what was going to happen….


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: Escape**

Seto gave the locked door a final kick, then fell to his knees. "Damn it!" he said.

"Seto," Joey said. "We need to think before we act."

"That's something coming from you!" Seto said. He got up and tried to ram the door with his shoulder, which only created pain.

"Open the damn door you dead bitch!" Seto shouted.

"So much for a non-believer," Seigyoku said with a dull face.

"Anzu does sound crazy," Komoura said. While Seto had been continuously ramming the door in different ways, Seigyoku had taken the liberty of filling Komoura in on the current events.

"Maybe we should send Yugi in," Joey suggested.

"Hell no!" Yami answered. "Not my son!"

"Think about it," Joey said. "She only came back to be with Yugi…and get revenge on you." Yami fell silent.

"That last part wasn't needed." Seigyoku whispered to Joey. Yami thought about it. He couldn't send Yugi in there by himself. Yugi was just a kid. What if Samara…or Anzu killed him? He could never forgive himself. He hesitated, deep in thought. Kaiba's banging bought him back to reality.

"I'm not sending Yugi in there alone." He said.

"Maybe you could go with him." Komoura suggested. Yami looked at her. He frowned. "What?" she asked.

"I'm sorry we had to meet like this." He said.

"It's not your fault." Komoura said. "Hell, this is better than my last job interview." Joey chuckled.

"Daddy?" A small voice said. They whirled around and looked at Yugi. He walked over to Yami. "I heard loud noises." He looked up at Seto, who was now out of breath.

"Yugi, I'm sorry." Yami said, bringing him into a hug.

"Why?" Yugi asked. "About what?"

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Yami said. "I should have known better."

"You mean you believe Mommy's back?" Yugi asked, looking up at his father.

"Oh yeah," Seto said, still breathing hard. "We believe ya."

"Where's Mommy now?" Yugi asked.

"Inside Samara," Seigyoku said. Yugi blinked.

"She took over her body Yugi," Yami explained. "We want to see if you can help her…Samara I mean, before Anzu does anything."

"Mommy wouldn't hurt her," Yugi said. Everyone fell silent, unsure of that.

"Just try, okay?" Joey asked. Yugi nodded and got up from his father's grip. He walked over to his door and surprised everyone by turning the knob, showing it wasn't locked. He left the door opened as he stepped inside. The five adults gathered carefully around the doorway.

Samara looked up at Yugi with her soulless, blue eyes. She was sitting on the bed as if she had been waiting. Yami's heart-rate was speeding up as each second. He was holding his breath and didn't know it.

"Mommy?" Yugi asked, trying to sound cute. Samara immediately looked up.

"Yugi?" she said. Her voice wasn't her own. It was Anzu's voice. That scared both Yugi and Yami. "My sweet boy," she continued. Yugi suddenly got nervous. He wanted to leave. "Come here," she said. Yugi didn't move. Samara glared at him. "Now Yugi!" she said. Yugi thought about it. His father was right behind him; he would save him if anything went wrong. Slowly he walked over to Samara. Once he was in front of her, she picked him up and held him in her lap. "My baby," she whispered into his ear. She began to rock him. Yugi remember this. His mother used to do this. He rested his head on her chest.

"Does this look normal?" Joey whispered to Yami. Yami nodded.

"Anzu used to do all of this to Yugi." Yami said. He nervously bit his lower lip. He felt Seigyoku grab his hand supportingly. He looked at her and she smiled. He smiled back at her.

"Remember Yugi," Samara whispered. "When we were together." Yugi merely nodded. "Oh Yugi," she said. "I've missed you so much."

"You been around for a while," Yugi said.

"I know sweetie," Samara said. She caressed Yugi's face. "I couldn't trust Daddy to take care of you." This stung Yami's heart. _"Why?"_ Yami thought.

"Why?" Yugi asked. "Daddy's was there when we needed him."

"When we needed him," Samara said. "But not when we wanted him." She looked up and glared into Yami's eyes. Yami flinched. Seigyoku squeezed his hand.

"You?" Joey whispered. "A work-a-holic? I don't believe it."

"Neither do I," Seto said. "She's crazy." Yami smiled at his friends. Samara held Yugi closer. Yugi shifted uncomfortably. He recognized this. Anzu had held him close like this when she was getting ready to play.

"Yugi," she said. Yugi nervously looked up at her. "Do you wanna be with mommy?" Yugi hesitated. "You don't want to be with daddy do you? Or 'Seigoku'?"

"It's '**Seigyoku**'!" Seigyoku shouted, standing up. "You got it wrong on purpose!" Samara glared at her.

"Silence!" Samara shouted. The chair from Yugi's desk began to levitate. Then it was thrown across the room at Seigyoku, who seemed frozen. At the last second, Yami grabbed her and brought her to the ground, holding her tightly and protectively. The chair shattered as it crashed into the wall.

"You okay?" Yami whispered to her. Slowly she nodded.

"You're coming with me Yugi!" Samara shouted. She grabbed Yugi around the throat and pressed her thumbs on his windpipe. Yugi immediately lost all his breath.

"Let him go!" Joey said, as he charged at Samara. She merely looked at him.

"Away Joseph!" she shouted. Suddenly, Joey started levitating.

"What the—!" he shouted in confusion.

"You're a bad influence." Samara said.

"Better than you in the long run!" Joey countered. Samara's glared deepened.

"You carry a pocket-knife with you right?" she asked. Joey's face went pale. Samara smiled evilly. Joey's pocket knife then levitated out of his back pocket. "I remember this one," Samara stated. "You told Yugi about it. I don't want my son with knives!" The blade was bought out and Samara sent it into Joey's chest. Joey gasped out of pain then went limp.

"JOEY!" Komoura shouted through tears. Seigyoku held her back.

"It'll be okay…" Seigyoku whispered to her friend. Komoura turned into Seigyoku's hold, not wanting to see her lover bleed out. As soon as Joey's body hit the floor, Yami came back. He had gone into his room to get something. He was shocked to see Joey on the ground.

"Seto," he said. Seto looked at him. "I'm sorry." At first Seto was confused, then Yami held up a nine-millimeter pistol…

(A/N: I'm not a gun person so if that wrong or whatever…just go with it, okay?))

…and aimed it. Seto's eyes widened as he understood.

"Yami, please—!" he begged.

"I'm sorry Seto." Yami said. "ANZU!" he shouted. Samara looked at him; her eyes widened. "YUGI IS MINE!" Yami pulled the trigger, hitting Samara in the shoulder. She gasped as she fell backwards, dropping Yugi. With his last bit of strength, Joey grabbed Yugi and threw him at Seigyoku. She caught him and held him closely.

"_DAMN YOU!"_ Anzu's voice shouted. Her ghostly figure immerged from Samara's body and charged at Yami. He was sent flying back. By now, Yugi was starting to wake up again.

"Yugi!" Seigyoku said. "Are you okay?" Yugi seemed dazed at first, but then he shot up. He saw his mother's ghost hovering over Yami. Seto and Komoura had run into Yugi's room to help their fallen loved ones.

"_YOU DIE AND BURN IN HELL!"_ Anzu shouted. She grabbed the gun herself and pointed it at Yami.

"Yugi," Seigyoku said, getting his attention. "Listen to me. Mommy came back to see you, right?" she asked. Yugi nodded. "Okay, now if you didn't want her to be here, she'd go away, right?" Yugi hesitated.

"I think so…" he said nervously.

"Okay," Seigyoku said, trying to stay calm. "Tell Mommy to go away. I know it's gonna be hard, but you have to do it." She put Yugi down. Yugi slowly walked over to Anzu.

"Mommy!" he shouted. She glanced at him. "Leave daddy alone! He didn't do anything to you!"

"Hush Yugi!" she shouted, this doesn't concern you. Yami slowly opened his eyes. What he saw was nothing short of a surprising. He smiled weakly, why? Because this was ironic; his dead wife was going to shoot him in front of their only son. He looked at Yugi.

"Yugi," he said weakly. "You know I love you right?" Yugi said nothing. His eyes swelled up with tears. Yami smiled again. "Be good for me, okay?" Anzu aimed the gun higher, at Yami's forehead...then it came to Yugi.

"I HATE YOU!" Yugi shouted. Both Yami and Anzu stared at their son; neither of them knew who he was talking to. "I'M SICK OF YOU!" he continued. "ALL I WANT IS FOR YOU TO LEAVE US ALONE!" Yugi took a deep breath when he was done. Tears were now streaming down his face.

There were a few seconds of peace….

A huge red and black fire engulfed Anzu. She looked around terrified. _"NO! NO!" _she cried. _"I'M NOT READY YET! I'M NOT DONE! HE HAS TO DIE! YUGI HAS TO COME WITH ME!"_

Yugi ran to his father. Yami held him close as the fire grew. Yugi buried his head in Yami's chest. Suddenly two huge demonic hands with long claws grabbed Anzu. She let out a loud shrill scream. She was then dragged into the floor.

After the fire turned to smoke, there wasn't an order or a burnt mark on the ground. Yami put Yugi down and told him to stay with Seigyoku. He ran inside Yugi's room and began to help Joey and Samara.

Of course no one would believe them about what they had just experienced, so the Family of Friends was left to heal themselves. Seto helped Samara stitch her shoulder and Joey's pocket knife hadn't gone very deep into his chest. This would always be their little…uh….big secret.

However, that's wasn't what Yami was worried about. How would this effect Yugi in his later life? Would he remember all this or would he just forget with time and age? Seto and Joey reassured that Yugi was a smart kid and that he knew better than to tell anyone. Yami was still unsure and nervous about. Still he knew the only thing he could do was try to give Yugi the best life he could offer.

**Epilogue**

Yami smiled at Seigyoku as the final vows were said and they shared the kiss of true love. They're friends and family cheered as they smiled behind their joy. Yami and Seigyoku headed to the limo with Yugi following them.

They were taken to a Rent-A-Way building for the reception. As they partied and enjoyed themselves, new memories were created. Yami joked around with Seto and Joey, then Gohan came up to him.

"Hey," he said. Yami turned and smiled.

"Nice to see you," he greeted.

"Yeah," Gohan replied. "Listen, I'm not gonna say I like you and I'm not gonna say I hate you, but hurt my sister and you'll die."

"Thank you for your blessings." Yami replied. Gohan glared at him as he walked away. He met up with Seigyoku. She smiled at him. "Why did we invite Gohan?" he asked.

"Because he my big brother and I love him very much!" she answered.

"He just threatened to kill me." Yami said.

"He dies!" Seigyoku answered quickly. Yami chuckled and hugged her.

"Now, now," he said. "Let's just enjoy ourselves." He kissed her gently. She smiled.

"Excuse me!" Joey shouted as he took his place on the stage with Komoura.

"Oh God," Yami and Seigyoku muttered at the same time.

"We would like everyone's attention!" Komoura said. Everyone faced them. Yami prayed they wouldn't say anything vulgar with Yugi present.

"We would like to announce the miracles brought to us tonight!" Joey announced. Everyone smiled at that.

"First," Komoura started. "Seigyoku is wearing a dress! Please take pictures!" Seigyoku slapped her forehead in embarrassment as most of her family and friends giggled. Yami hugged her.

"You're beautiful…" he whispered to her.

"Second!" Komoura said again. "Seigyoku is wearing make-up! Again, take pictures!" Another commotion of laughter from her family.

"She dies," Seigyoku whispered to Yami. Yami chuckled.

"Usually, the Best Man and the Maid of Honor give the embarrassing speech." he said.

"Then why aren't Seto and Samara up there?" Seigyoku asked.

"Because they're respectful." Yami answered. At Yami's first wedding, Joey had been his Best Man and Anzu's cousin had been her Maid of Honor. Since this was his second wedding, Yami felt it fair it was Seto's turn.

"Third miracle!" Joey and Komoura continued. They stayed up there for the longest half an hour of Yami and Seigyoku's lives.

When it was time for the toss of the bouquet, it Seigyoku accidentally threw it over the crowd and it landed on Samara and Seto's table in the middle of their conversation. Everyone congratulated Samara as she begged Komoura to take it, who ignored her pleas. Seto only smiled at her. Samara blushed a deep red.

After that was done, everyone just hung out and danced for five more hours. Slowly and steadily people left and wished Yami and Seigyoku the best of luck. Soon when only Yami, his friends, Seigyoku, and her family remained the cleaned up best they could and saved everything up.

"So," Joey asked. "Where you guys going?"

"Yami won't tell me," Seigyoku said, glaring at him.

"It's a surprise…" Yami said in a taunting voice.

"Dad…" A very, very tired voice said. Yami smiled gently and picked up Yugi. Yugi was practically tripping over himself trying not to fall asleep.

"Sorry son," Yami whispered. Yugi smiled.

"It's okay daddy…" He said. "When will you be back?" Yugi yawned.

"In about a month." Yami said. He kissed Yugi gently. Yugi smiled.

"I'll take him," Joey offered, holding his hands out. Yami handed him Yugi and they talked for a few more minutes. Then Seigyoku's family came over to them.

"It's great to have you apart of the family now," Chi-Chi said to Yami. Yami smiled.

"Glad to be here," Yami said. Gohan kept his glare. Yami ignored him.

"What can I say," Goku said. "But welcome to the family." He gave Yami a friendly slap on the shoulder. Seigyoku stared at her father wide-eyed and looked at Yami, who had locked his knees to remain standing. Vegeta slapped his forehead and Bulma made a face of worry.

"We better get going!" Bulma suggested.

"Yes!" Chi-Chi agreed quickly. She grabbed Goku's arm and they left, giving Seigyoku a quick good bye. Once they were gone, Yami mouthed the word 'Ow!' at Seigyoku and she smiled sympathetically.

They all began to leave and Seto and Samara took Yugi home with them. Joey and Komoura wished Yami and Seigyoku a good honeymoon and bid them farewell. Yami and Seigyoku got into Yami brand new black Ferrari and drove to the airport to begin their new life together…

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**Okay wow; I wrote all that. Cool. Uh…how can I saw this…Uhm, for those of you who enjoyed by fanfic thank you and you are welcome to check out my other stories that will be added soon. I only work on one story at a time, so be patient with me. Also, I'm thinking about doing a sequel for this fanfic. I'm not sure what I'm gonna call it but just look out for it. Also if you have any constructive criticism, now is the time to give them. NO FLAMES! So yeah…thank you my good fans…I'm sure the words aren't good enough but thanks anyway. Hope to see your reviews in my next stories.**


	21. Chapter 21

Good news guys, the sequel's up! It's called "Living Curse"!

PLEASE READ IT! AND IF YOU LIKE IT, TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT! LATER GUYS!

LEAVE REVIEWS FOR ME!


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